\ PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY 



OF THE 



FORMATION 



OF TBh 



AMERICAN REPUF^LIC 








LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap..lH.dG^yright No. ' 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY 



OF THE 



FORMATION 



OF THE 



AMERICAN REPUBLIC 



From Its Beginning to the End 
of the Civil War. 



/ 

B^ BY 

ROBT. KISSICK, LL. B. 

OF THE 

OSKALOOSA, IOWA, BAR. 



u^ 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1896, by 

ROBERT KISSICK, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 

All Rights Reserved. • 



To 

A\Y Wire 

Whose suggestions and criticisms have been of great 

benefit to me in the preparation 

of this woric. 

This V^OLUME 

Is affectionately dedicated. 



W 



A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY 



OF 



THE FORMATION 



OF 



THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

To THE People of the United States 9 

Preface 11 

Introduction li) 

Plan of the Work— The Value and Study of History — 

The Origin and Kinds of History— The Best Kind of 

History. 
Prelude 23 



BOOK I. 



A Philosophical View of the Formation and Evolution 
OF THE Republic. 

PART I. 

The Origin, Necessity and Object of Government — The 
Causes that Led to the Formation of our Republic — 
The Steps Taken in Its Formation, with Some Results 
Consequent on the Manner of Its Formation. 

CHAPTER I. 

Fundamental Principles and the Origin of Our Re- 
public 27 

CHAPTER II. 
Washington and the Confederation 36 

CHAPTER III. 
Washington and the Constitution 44 

CHAPTER IV. 

Effects of the Ordinance of 1787 52 

5 



CHAPTER V. 

PAGE. 

Dangers Confronting the Makers of the Constitu- 
tion AND Results 57 



PART II. 
Two Civilizations— Their Rise and Development— The 
Fall of One and the Triumph of the Other. 

CHAPTER I. 
Planting Germs and Some Results 67 

CHAPTER II. 
The Lincoln-Douglas Debate 77 

CHAPTER III. 
The New Champion of Freedom 89 

CHAPTER IV. 
Conspiracy and Secession ito 

CHAPTER V. 
The Southern Confederacy Ill 

CHAPTER VI. 
Buchanan and the Rebellion 116 

CHAPTER VII. 
An Argument 183 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Buchanan and Davis 138 

CHAPTER IX. 
Causes of the Rebellion 144 

CHAPTER X. 
The New President Inaugurated 146 

CHAPTER XI. 

TkE Black Cloud of Rebellion 153 

6 



CHAPTER XII. I.A6B. 
Fort Sumter l-'^fi 

CHAPTER XIII. 
A Wicked Rebellion l*'" 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Closing Drama 1^6 

HOOK II. 
Landmarks of the Formative Period of the REiniiLic. 

CHAPTER I. 
Introductory 17!:^ 

CHAPTER II. 
The Declaration of Indetendence 175 

1. Sketch of the Origin of tlie Declaration 175 

2. Text of the Declaration 179 

CHAPTER III. 
The Articles of Confedekation 187 

1. Sketch of the Origin of the Articles 187 

2. Text of the Articles 202 

CHAPTER ly. 
The Ordinance of 1787 217 

1. Sketch of the Origin of the Ordinance 217 

2. Text of the Ordinance 219 

CHAPTER V. 
The Constitution of the United States 231 

1. Sketch of the Origin of the Constitution 231 

2. Text of the Constitution 246 

3. Text of Amendments to the Constitution 267 

4. Chronology of Amendments to the Constitution 274 

CHAPTER VI. 
Index and Analysis or the Constitution 276 

Index of Persons 296 

7 



TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 



"One-half of the time which is now almost 
wasted, in district schools, on English grammar, 
attempted at too early an age, would be sufficient 
to teach our children to love the Republic, and to 
become its loyal and life-long supporters. After 
the bloody baptism from which the Nation has 
arisen to a higher and nobler life, if this shameful 
defect in our system of education be not speedily 
remedied, we shall deserve the infinite contempt 
of future generations. I insist that it should be 
made an indispensable condition of graduation in 
every American college, that the student must 
understand the history of this continent since its 
discovery by Europeans, the origin and history of 
the United States, its constitution of government, 
the struggles through which it has passed, and 
the rights and duties of citizens who are to deter- 
mine its destiny and share its glory." — James A. 
Garfield, in 1867. 



PREFACE. 



It may be thought that the scope of my work 
is too narrow; or, in other words, that I have not 
used all the events which go to make up the for- 
mation and evolution of the Republic. From one 
point of view this is true, to some extent. This 
work, however, has been written on the theory 
that our Republic was evolved, and has been per- 
petuated, out of conflicts between freedom and 
tyranny; that its philosophy rests upon the prin- 
ciple that all men are created equal, as expressed 
in the great Declaration. So long as inalienable 
rights were denied, to some or all of the people, 
conflicts were certain to take place, to right the 
wrong. Indeed, the history of the past two or 
three centuries or more consists largely of a series 
of struggles for freedom. What battles have been 
fought, what millions have died for the rights of 
man! Tyranny became intrenched in power, and 
would not let go; so Freedom had to battle for 
her rights. Freedom, though "scarred" with her 
many wars, by these has added strength to 
strength, to meet her ever vigilant and sleep- 
less enemy in combat — flnally to be victorious. 
Thus it ever has been; thus it ever will be. In 
this way freedom progresses, and civilization rises 
to a higher plane. 

11 



12 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

With the thought that freedom is the pole star 
— the central idea — of our Hepublic, around which 
clings all else, I have confined myself to an outline 
of the great struggles between freedom and tyr- 
anny, in giving a philosophical view of its forma- 
tion and evolution. 1 have tried to deal only with 
fundamentals, leaving details to be looked for else- 
where. 

The great drama of history naturall}^ divides 
itself into periods; and generally there is a cen- 
tral idea or principle in each from which it must 
be viewed when treating it philosophically. 

It may be trul}^ said that the three greatest 
periods in the history of the world, since the be- 
ginning of the Christian era, are, the discovery of 
a New World, by Columbus; the founding of a 
nation, by Washington; and the preservation of 
that nation, by Lincoln, These are the ones which 
have had, and which will still have, the greatest 
influence on humanity for its betterment. There 
is nothing mythical about these periods. AbU' 
writers have written of them, and none need be 
ignorant of their history. He, who will, may read 
and understand. 

It has been my endeavor, in this volume, to 
give a faithful exposition of the leading events of 
the second and third periods; they have been my 
theme; their history the warp and woof of my 
story. 

What grander theme than the founding of a na- 
tion — a Republic — at the time, and under the cir- 
cumstances, in which it was founded; and the 



PREFACE. 13 

preservation of that Republic — after it liad grown 
uiighty among the nations of the world — from its 
internal foes! The history of these events should 
be familiar to all its people; and especially to the 
boys and girls — for in them is the future hope of 
the Kepublic. 

Patriotism, — love of country, — should be 
taught in the home, the school, the church, and 
to every citizen of the Kepublic. If this be done 
better citizens will be the result, and in conse- 
quence better government. Too many know but 
little, if anything, of the history of the formation 
of our Kepublic, of what it cost to build it, and 
tlie great cost of its maintenance. 

In what way can patriotism be better taught 
than by giving a knowledge of the fundamental 
]n'inciples of libertj', of our government, and of 
what it cost to build and maintain the Republic? 
These I have tried to set forth in the spirit of the 
philosophy of the great events which have trans- 
pired in its building from its infancy up to the 
close of the war for the preservation of the Union. 
And, in doing this, I have given the landmarks 
which were made in its evolution during that 
time. Some of them fell by the wayside in that 
evolution; but all that were worthy of preserva- 
tion still endure, and it is hoped will endure for- 
ever; for they are founded on right, the only sure 
and stable foundation of government. 

Those landmarks which have stood the test of 
time, and the shock of battle, have been estab- 
lished in blood. Thev should be sacred to the peo- 



14 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

]jl»» and nourished by them with patriotic devo- 
tion. I have set forth the hmdmarks which have 
survived and those which have perished, that each 
may judge for himself whether the right or the 
wrong survived, in the great conflicts through 
which the Republic has passed. I have att emitted 
to inform the student as to fundamental princi- 
ples, and thus to assist in guiding him in his 
search after the truth of what was the right, or 
the wrong, of those conflicts; and in doing that 1 
have sought to do so in a spirit of fairness and 
impartiality to all. Whether or not I have suc- 
ceeded, in this, I submit to the judgment of the 
reader. 

If this book inspires in the reader a love of 
truth, of country, of right, and a hatred of wrong, 
I shall feel that my labors have not been in vain. 

It has been a conviction of mine for years, that 
the study of the histor}^ of the formation of the 
Republic has been and is too much neglected. It: 
may be that some of the facts are pretty thor- 
oughly taught to the young, but I am led to believe 
that the philosophy of the real facts has been 
greatly neglected, as well as the fundamental prin- 
ciples of liberty and of our government; and this 
to the prejudice of good government. 

The naked facts of history are said to be dry 
and uninteresting. This, to some extent, is true; 
and, unless they are imbued with a soul, but little 
interest will be taken in them by the average stu- 
dent. 

History — pure or scientific history — should be 



PREFACE. 15 

writteu and studied the same as any other braucli 
of knowledge requiring the use of the reasoning- 
powers. The reason of things should be clearlj 
brought before the mind. If this be done the mind 
of the student will the more readily grasp the rele- 
vancy or relation of events; without this he is 
groping, as it were, in the darkness, not knowing 
whither he is going or wliere he will land. In 
this way only will its study bear fruit woi'thy the 
human mind. 

The foundation principles of the Republic rest 
upon the Declaration of Independence; and this, 
with the Constitution of the United States, consti- 
tutes the Great Charter of our liberties; the Con- 
stitution being the organic and fundamental law 
of the land. These great instruments should be 
the study of all. Their language, — together with 
the history of their formation, and the causes 
which inspired and led to their adoption, — should 
be well known. "He can but poorly appreciate the 
freedom he enjoys," says an eminent jurist, "who 
does not understand the great charter which se- 
cures it. I was about to go further, and say, that 
he does not deserve to be free, who will not inform 
himself in what his freedom consists." 

The study of these instruments should not be 
confined to any one class. Persons of all occupa- 
tions and professions should be familiar with them 
and their history. But especially should the youth 
of the land be required to learn their text by heart, 
as were the Roman youth the law of the "twelve 
tables." If this were done citizenship would be 



16 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

higher, and the perpetuity of the Government, — of 
the people, by the people,. and for the people, — be 
better assured and rest on a firmer and more en- 
during basis. 

In addition to these all should carefully study 
the utterances of Washington and Lincoln. Had 
their wisdom and counsels prevailed, in the hearts 
of their countrymen, this land would not have 
been drenched in fraternal blood. Their words 
are applicable to all times; and at the present 
time their patriotic sayings should be treasured 
in the minds of all, for a new era is dawning in 
the Republic. If this Republic ever goes down it 
will be from its internal foes, and not those with- 
out. Let all take heed to the eloquent and faithful 
words of its Founder and its Preserver, — then its 
future will be w^ell assured. 

In this history I have drawn the curtain at 
the close of the War for the Union ; not because 
what lies beyond is devoid of interest, for it is of 
great interest, but because the events which have 
transpired since, are too near to us to be viewed 
in the light of impartial history, — the point of 
view is not distant enough. The sediment of the 
events has not yet settled so as to leave the real 
facts transparent eijough to write of them in the 
light of a clear perception of their real character, 
and their relation to the welfare of the Republic. 

The author has designed this book as an 
authority in American literature, for use in the 
schools and homes of America. 

It is submitted, without any apologies, to a 



PREFACE. 17 

critical public for its perusal, with the hope that 
it may inspire, in all, a love for our free institu- 
tions, our country, and those who so nobly per- 
formed their part in making it what it is, — the 
freest, the greatest, the grandest Republic the 
world has ever known. 

ROBT. KISSICK. 
Oskaloosa, Iowa, U. S. A. 
July 4th, 1896. 



INTRODUCTION. 



PLAN OF THE WORK.— THE VALUE AND STUDY OP HIS 

TORY.— THE ORIGIN AND KINDS OF HISTORY.— 

THE BEST KIND OF HISTORY. 

I have undertaken the task of writing a His- 
tory of the Formation of our Republic; not b}' 
giving an account of its battles, sieges, the early 
settlement of the country, the development of the 
colonies, and such like; others have written of 
these. But I intend, instead thereof, to use the 
facts of history, and from them write a Philosoph- 
ical History; giving, in as brief a space as possi- 
ble, the reason or philosophy of the leading events 
which have transpired in the building or evolution 
of the Republic, from its beginning, up to the end 
of the Great Rebellion in 1865. 

I shall endeavor to set forth the great land- 
marks, the steps she has taken to attain her high 
state of civilization, and high standing among 
the civilized nations of the world. For the true 
test of the progress of a people is their advance- 
ment in civilization. Progress is the fruit of 
knowledge; knowledge the base and regulator of 
civilization. 

I know of no history of the kind; and I have 
been led to believe that such a history would be 
one in which the x\merican people w^ould be in- 
terested. If it shall prove acceptable to the read- 
er, as I trust it may, I will feel amply repaid for 
my labors. 

The history of a great Republic, like ours, — 
19 



20 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

which has no parallel in the history of nations, 
ancient or modern, — should stand first in the affec- 
tions of its people, and should be the study of all 
its people. Its true greatness and its beneficence 
cannot be appreciated unless its people under- 
stand the history of its formation, and are willing 
to devote their attention to the study of the trials 
and vicissitudes through which it passed in its 
infanc}', and those which have follow^ed. Indeed, 
no one can learn of these without having his mind 
filled with a love for her priceless institutions, 
and for the freedom which all enjoy by reason of 
the sacrifices made by those who engaged in the 
great conflicts, which have produced such a benefi- 
cent result. 

The study of history should form a large part 
of an education; for, I cannot conceive that one 
is well educated unless he is thoroughly versed in 
history. • From history we derive our knowledge 
of man in his several relations with society; and 
as connected with the rise, progress, and decay 
of states and nations, in art, science, politics, reli- 
gion, and all those things which tend either to 
promote the happiness or the misery of the people. 

Man makes history. And since history deals 
with the actions of men, it is necessary, in writing 
history, to look into the causes and motives which 
impel men to act in a particular way. For there 
is a cause for every effect; and men do not act 
without a motive. 

It may be said that there are two kinds of 
history. One, wherein events are simply narrated, 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

which may be called "fact history"; the other, 
wherein the facts of history are so used as to show 
the reason of the happening of events; that kind 
may be termed "spirit or soul history." 

The second kind of history I believe to be the 
more useful and important to mankind. For if 
we do not understand the reason or philosophy 
of a thing:, it cannot be said that we have been 
much, if any, benefited by its study. 

The first kind of history is the storehouse of 
facts; and, as it were, constitutes the anatomy of 
history. This anatomy, however, must have life 
breathed into it, or remain dead to mankind. The 
true historian, then, will so select, arrange, and 
use facts, deduce causes, motives, principles, as to 
give that life. In this way giving to the world 
the warnings and instructions of history, for which 
it is chiefly valuable. 

It has been said, that history is philosophy 
teaching by examples. But,. I apprehend, the ex- 
amples will amount to but little unless they are 
so used as to exemplify the philosophy of events. 
Its philosophy is the soul of history; and if the 
soul be not developed it is like the "barren fig 
tree," — f r u it 1 ess. 

My effort will be to delineate the soul of our 
Eepublic, — Freedom; or, as it were, to paint a 
picture of its evolution with the facts of history 
as its background. 



PRELUDE. 



AMERICA. 

My country! 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 

Of thee I sing; 
Land where my fathers died; 
Land of the pilgrim's pride; 
From every mountain side. 

Let freedom ring. 

My native country! thee, 
Land of the noble free, 

Thy name I love; 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills; 
My heart with rapture thrills. 

Like that above. 

Let music swell the breeze. 
And ring from all the trees 

Sweet freedom's song; 
Let mortal tongues awake. 
Let all that breathe partake. 
Let rocks their silence break, 

The sound prolong. 

Our father's God! to Thee, 
Author of liberty! 

To Thee we sing; 
Long may our land be bright 
With freedom's holy light. 
Protect us by Thy might, 

Great God, our King. 



23 



BOOK I. 

A Philosophical View of the For- 
mation and Evolution of 
the Republic. 



PART I. 

THE ORIGIN, NECESSITY AND OBJECT OF GOVERNMENT— 
THE CAUSES THAT LED TO THE FORMATION OF OUR 
REPUBI<IC>— THE STEPS TAKEN IN ITS FORMATION. 
WITH SOME RESULTS CONSEQUENT ON THE MANNER 
OF ITS FORMATION. 

CHAPTER I. 

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND THE ORIGIN OF OUR 
REPUBLIC, 

Freedom is the original and normal condition 
of man. All men are born with certain natural 
rights; and when they dwell together, — with no 
human laws to restrain and regulate their con- 
duct, — they have complete natural freedom and 
personal independence, and are governed only by 
the laws of nature or the moral law, in their rela- 
tions with one another. In this condition there 
is a perfect equality of rights and obligations be- 
tween them. But this is the only equality that 
exists, for no two persons are, in point of fact, 
equal either socially, morally, physically or intel- 
lectually. An equality of rights and obligations, 
therefore, is the only equality that can exist among 
men, either in a state of nature or under civil 
government. 

It is self-evident from the nature of man, and, 
besides, experience has demonstrated, that when 
men dwell in communities, — as is natural for them 
to do, for man is a social being and cannot live 
alone, — something more than the law of nature is 

'For specified causes, see Declaration of Independence, Chapter 
2 of Book II. 

27 



28 ^ A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

needed to preserve harmony and order among 
them; something more than moral restraint is 
necessary to protect the rights of each individual, 
and of all. It is not in the province of man to 
enforce the lava's of nature or the moral law. He 
has no power to do so; that power belongs to God 
alone; hence, civil law — human law — is neces- 
sary; so that when one tramples on the rights of 
another there may be a remedy to redress the 
wrong or enforce the right. Laws are necessary 
to hinder the strong from oppressing the weak; to 
prevent might from trampling upon right and 
establishing the wrong. In short, laws are neces- 
sary to enforce and maintain equal and exact 
justice when justice is denied. But these laws, to 
be permanent, must be founded on the "higher 
law." 

These considerations being true, it follows that 
government is necessary to make and enforce such 
laws as may be for the good of all; otherwise 
anarchy would prevail and each would be a law 
unto himself, subject onl}^ to the moral law which 
is not enforceable by man, but only by his Creator. 

Two questions arise here. What kind of a gov- 
ernment should that be? and how should it be 
established? It v.'ould seem, from the nature of 
the rights of man, that government should be es- 
tablished by the consent of the governed, and in 
such form as shall best secure and promote the 
welfare and happiness of the people .to be affected 
by it. The whole community should have the 
right to speak on that subject. 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. 29 

If the few strong of a commuuit}^ seeking 
power, should establish a government without the 
consent and against the will of the weak, that 
would be a government by coercion, and, there- 
fore, despotic. Government established in this 
way is not sure and stable, as has been shown by 
experience; for power exercised by the few inevi- 
tably leads to tyranny. The people become restive 
under such a government, and sometime they will 
seize the opportunity to throw it off and establish 
another. 

Where all have a voice in framing the govern- 
ment none can complain, for that would be a free 
government, since it would derive all its powers 
from the consent of the governed ; such, for exam- 
ple, is the government of the United States of 
America, which was erected by the "free voite 
and joint will" of the people, for their common 
defense, general welfare, and to secure the bless- 
ings of liberty. 

From these preliminary considerations it will 
be readily seen, that the object of government is, 
and should be, to promote the welfare and happi- 
ness of the people — all the people. Justice to all 
is the end of government. Indeed, it is the end of 
civil society. 

That some governments have not attained this 
end may justly be attributed, to some extent, to 
their form, and somewhat to the character of their 
rulers. 

The time will come,— long distant, perhaps, — 
when all governments will rule with equity, and 



30 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

with the sole end of promoting the happiness and 
well being of the people. 

Great improvement in that direction has been 
made during the past century or more, and espe- 
cially since the Kepublic of the United States has 
come into existence. The crowned rulers of the 
Old World have taken lessons of the new Repub- 
lic, founded in the New World, and based on the 
principle, "that all men are created equal"; and 
that governments derive "their just powers from 
the consent of the governed; that, whenever any 
form of government becomes destructive of these 
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abol- 
ish it, and to institute a new jtovernment, lading 
its foundations on such principles, and organizing 
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem 
most likely to effect their safety and happiness."- 

When that grand declaration was made by the 
fathers of the Republic, the rulers of the Old 
World heard the announcement with bated breath 
and with astonishment. No such doctrine had 
ever been announced before. But it was in ac- 
cordance with the sublime teachings of Him who 
spake as never man spake. The claimed "divine 
right" of kings was becoming a myth; and man 
was asserting his right to self government. 

Its promulgation has had the effect to modify 
the harshness of the governments of the Old 
World; and the people by reason of it have en- 
joyed more liberty than ever before. It should be 

'See Declaration of Independence, Chapter 2 of Book II. 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. 31 

placed, in letters of gold, on the throne of every 
crowned head of the nations of the world. , 

That declaration was the result of long con- 
tinued tyranny and oppression on the part of the 
English Crown, over the people of her Colonies 
in America. It was wrung from them when all 
hope of redress, for wrongs, had fled; and when 
thej' must either assert their rights as freemen or 
become slaves to a tyrant. And thus out of tyr- 
anny and oppression was born a new Republic, 
where liberty should' be inspired witli liope, and 
which should become the wonder of the nations 
of the earth. 

Nowhere but in the New World could such a 
republic have been erected. Here all was new. 
The very air was fatal to the arbitrary institu- 
tions of the Old World. Here man was not con- 
taminated with the restrained freedom of the 
effete institutions of the Old World. He breathed 
the air of freedom in his roamings through the 
forests, over the hills and mountains of the New. 
All around him was wild and free; and his soul 
revolted against tyranny and oppression. 

He was engaged in a conflict with nature, on 
the one side, for his sustenance and physical well 
being; and on the other side he was engaged in 
battling with the forces of oppression against his 
rights as a freemen, — the rights the God of nature 
had given him. The living principle of freedom 
was implanted within him, and when tyranny and 
oppression became unendurable to him as a free- 
man, he asserted his rights and independence. 



32 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

In this way the time came when the colonists 
of America asserted their rights, threw off the 
yoke of the English oppressor, and made the 
declaration "that all men are created equal; and 
are endowed by their Creator with certain inalien- 
able rights; that among these are life, liberty and 
the pursuit of happiness."^ 

This declaration, and their independence, they 
maintained by the sword. From Lexington to 
Yorktown the patriots of the Revolution, — with 
Washington^ as their leader, — contended for seven 
long years, with a heroism unparalleled, for the 
rights of man. At Yorktown the forces of oppres- 
sion surrendered to the forces of liberty, and their 
heroic efforts were crowned with success. Wash- 
ington and his compatriots then laid down their 
arms, and returned to their homes, to help build 
a nation, freed from the oppressions of their for- 
mer master. In this, Washington was the guide, 
— the leader, — as he had been through the war. 
All eyes were turned to him in the great work of 
building the new Republic. 

"See Declaration of Independence, Chapter 2 of Book II. 

•■George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the patriot army 
during tlie Revolution, was born at Bridges Creek, Viigniia, on the 
Potomac, about fifty miles south of where Washington now stands. 
His father, soon after the birth of George, removed to an estate 
on the Rappahannock opposite Fredericksburg. Washington's 
great-grandfather, John Washington, emigrated from England to 
Virginia about 1657. It is generally thought that he belonged to one 
of the old Cavalier families that fought in behalf of Charles I 
during the English Ci\il War. George Washington received a fair 
English education, but nothing more. He early excelled in athletic 
sports, horsemanship and as a soldier during the Colonial Wars; 
these prepared him for his future great work. By the death of his 
brother, Lawrence Washington, he came eventually into possession 
of the estate of Mount A'ernon, on the Potomac, a short distance 
below the present city of Washington. In 1759 he married Mrs. 
Martha Custis, a wealthy widow. Prom this time on until his 
death, December 14, 1700, ho stood the most prominent of any of 
the patriots of the Revolution or, indeed, of any in the world. 
Washington will alwaj's be known as the "Father of his Country." 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. 33 

What a grand spectacle was here presented! 
None such had ever been shown to the world be- 
fore. 

Their success in that great struggle for liberty 
and independence had a deeper and broader 
meaning, and the result was of more significance, 
than simply the independence of the Colonies from 
the English Crown, 

Not only was the yoke of tyranny and oppres- 
sion thrown off and liberty maintained in Amer- 
ica, but the success of the Americans preserved 
the liberties of the people of England. 

An eminent English historian^ says of that 
Revolution, and its influence on the liberties of 
P^ngland: 

"On the other side of the Atlantic, a great 
people, provoked by the intolerable injustice of 
the English government, rose in arms, turned on 
their oppressors, and, after a desperate struggle, 
gloriously obtained their independence. In 1776 
the Americans laid before Europe that noble Dec- 
laration, which ou^ht to be hung up in the nursery 
of every king, and blazoned on the porch of every 
royal palace. In words, the memory of which can 
never die, they declared, that the object of the 
institution of government is to secure the rights 
of the people; that from the people alone it de- 
rives its powers; and that whenever any form of 
government becomes destructive of these ends, it 
is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, 
and to institute a new government, laying its 

^Buckle, "History of Civilization in England." 
3 



34 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

foundations on such principles, and organizing its 
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most 
likely to effect their safety and happiness. 

"In order to enforce the monstrous claim of 
taxing a whole people without their consent, there 
was waged against America a war ill-conducted, 
unsuccessful, and what is far worse, accompanied 
by cruelties disgraceful to a civilized nation. To 
this may be added, that an immense trade was 
nearly annihilated; every branch of commerce was 
thrown into confusion; we were disgraced in the 
eyes of Europe; we incurred an expense of £140,- 
000,000; and we lost by far the' most valuable 
colonies any nation has ever possessed. 

"Such were the first fruits of the policy of 
George III.^ But the mischief did not stop there. 
The opinions which it wr. ^ necessary to advocate 
in order to justify this barbarous war, recoiled on 
ourselves. In order to defend the attempt to de- 
stroy the liberties of America, i)rinciples were laid 
down which, if carried into effect, would have 
subverted the liberties of England. Not only in 
the court, but in both houses of Parliament, from 
the Episcopal bench, and from the pulpits of the 
church party, there were promulgated doctrines 
of the most dangerous kind, — doctrines unsuited 
to a limited monarchy, and, indeed, incompatible 
with it. The extent to which this reaction pro- 
ceeded is kno.wn to but few readers, because the 
evidence of it is chiefly to be found in the par- 
liamentary debates, and in the theological litera- 

•King of England, 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. 35 

tiire, particularly the sermons, of that time, none 
of which are now much studied. But, not to anti- 
cipate matters belonging to another part of this 
work, it is enough to say, that the danger was 
so imminent as to make the ablest defenders of 
popular liberty believe that everything was at 
stake; and that if the Americans w^ere vanquished, 
the next step would be to attack the liberties of 
England, and endeavour to extend to the mother 
country the same arbitrary government which by 
that time would have been established in the Col- 
onies. 

"Whether or not these fears were exaggerated, 
is a question of considerable difficulty; but after 
a careful study of that time, and a study, too, from 
sources not much used by historians, I feel satis- 
fied that the}^ who are best acquainted with the 
period will be the most willing to admit that, 
though the danger may have been overrated, it 
was far more serious than men are now inclined 
to believe. At all events, it is certain that the 
general aspect of political affairs was calculated 
to excite great alarm. It is certain that, during 
many years, the authority of the crown continued 
to increase, until it reached a height of which no 
example had been seen in England for several 
generations. It is certain that the Church of Eng- 
land exerted all her iuliuence in favour of those 
despotic principles which the king wished to en- 
force. It is also certain that, by the constant 
creation of new peers, all holding the same views, 
the character of the House of Lords was under- 



36 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORr. 

going a slow but decisive change; and that, when- 
ever a favourable opportunity arose, high judicial 
appointments were conferred upon men notorious 
for their leaning towards the royal prerogative. 
These are facts which cannot be denied; and put- 
ting them together, there remains, I think, no 
doubt, that the American war was a great crisis 
in the history of England, and that if the Colonists 
had been defeated, our liberties would have beeu 
for a time in considerable jeopardy. From that 
risk we were saved by the Americans, who with 
heroic spirit resisted the royal armies, defeated 
them at every point, and at length, separating 
themselves from the mother country, began that 
wonderful career, which in less than eighty years 
has raised them to an unexampled prosperity, and 
which to us ought to be deeply interesting, as 
showing what may be effected by the unaided 
resources of a free people." 



CHAPTER II. ' 

WASHINGTON AND THE CONFEDERATION. 

A sense of imminent and common danger, had 
caused the Colonies to unite, at the beginning of 
the Kevolutionary struggle, and to intrust their 
interests to a Congress, — composed of delegates 
from each Colony,^called the Continental Con- 
gress. The delegates to that Congress were in- 
structed, in general terms, to take care of the 



WASHINGTON AND THE CONFEDERATION. " 37 

liberties of the coimtr3\ This they did. But it 
soon became evident that a formal instrument 
should be adopted, defining with precision, the 
nature and powers of the union. 

While the Declaration of Independence was 
under consideration in that Congress, in June, 
1776, measures were taken by it for the establish- 
ment of a constitutional form of government. But 
nothing was agreed upon until the 15th of Novem- 
ber, 1777; on which day, "Articles of Confedera- 
tion and Perpetual Union" w^ere adopted by the 
Congress.''' When these articles were sent by Con- 
gress to the State legislatures for their ratifica- 
tion, they were declared to be the result of impend- 
ing necessity, and of a disposition for conciliation, 
and that thej were agreed to, not for their intrin- 
sic excellence, but as the best system which could 
be adapted to the circumstances of all, and, at 
the same time, afford any tolerable prospect of 
general assent.^ 

These articles were to go into effect when rati- 
fied by all the States. Some of the States ratified 
them promptly; the others held back,^ and it was 
not until the 1st day of March, 1781, that they 
received the assent of all. On the next day Con- 
gress assembled under the new government. 

This government proved to be "a n^ost unskilful 
fabric, and totally incompetent to fulfil the ends 
for which it was erected." It had neither judicial 

^For Articles of Confederation, see Chapter 3 of Book II. 
^Journal of Congress, Vol. V, p. 208. 

8For reasons, see "Sketch of the Orig-in of the Articles of Con- 
federation," Chapter 3 of Book II. 



38 ' A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

nor executive departDients. All its power was 
confided to Congress, composed of but one branch. 
One of the vital defects was that its laws and 
decrees acted on states instead of on individuals; 
and it had no power to enforce these laws and 
decrees, when violated, except by a resort to arms. 
This mode was not practicable. 

"Almost as soon as it was ratified," says Kent, 
in his Commentaries on American Law, "the States 
began to fail in a prompt and faithful obedience 
to its laws. As danger receded, instances of neg- 
lect became more frequent, and before the peace 
of 1783, the inherent imbecility of the government 
had displayed itself with alarming rapidity. The 
. delinquencies of one State became a pretext or 
apology for those of another. The idea of supply- 
ing the pecuniary exigencies of the nation, from 
requisitions on the States, was soon found to be 
altogether delusive. The national engagements 
seem to have been entirely abandoned. Even the 
contributions for the ordinary expenses of the gov- 
ernment fell almost entirely upon the two States 
which had the most domestic resources. Attempts 
were very early made by Congress, and in remon- 
strances the most manly and persuasive, to obtain 
from the several States the right of levying, for a 
limited time, a general impost, for the exclusive 
purpose of providing for the discharge of the na- 
tional debt. It was found impracticable to unite 
the States in any provision for the national safety 
and honor. Interfering regulations of trade, and 
interfering claims of territory, were dissolving the 



WASHIIiGTON AND THE CONFEDERATION, 39 

friendly attachments, and the sense of common 
interest, whicli had cemented and sustained the 
Union during the arduous struggles of the Revo- 
lution. S^niptoms of distress, and marks of 
humiliation, were rapidly accumulating. It was 
with difficulty that the attention of the States 
could be sufficiently exerted to induce them to 
keep up a sufficient representation in Congress 
to form a quorum for business. The finances of 
the nation were annihilated. The whole army of 
the United States was reduced, in 1784, to 80 per- 
sons; and the States were urged to provide some 
of the militia to garrison the western posts. In 
short, to use the language of the authors of The 
Federalist,^^ 'each State, yielding to the voice of 
immediate interest or convenience, successively 
withdrew its support from the Confederation, till 
the frail and tottering edrfice was ready to fall 
upon our heads, and to crush us beneath its 
ruins.' " 

There was in truth no government worthy the 
name. Congress could not keep its engagements, 
and foreign nations would not enter into treaties 
of commerce with America because of her dis 
united condition. "We are," said Washington, 
"one nation to-day, and thirteen to-morrow, — who 
will treat with us on these terms?" 

At the close of the Revolutionary war, Wash- 
ington retired to his estate at Mount Vernon; and 
there in his retirement watched with great solici- 

^"Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay were the 
authors of "The Federalist." 



40 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

tucle the workings of the several parts of the Con- 
federation; anxious to see whether the thirteen 
States, under the present organization, coukl form 
an efficient general government, so as to secure 
the objects and results of the Revolution, Day by 
day, however, he was becoming more doubtful of 
the solidity of the fabric he had assisted in form- 
ing. 

In a letter to James Warren, of Massachusetts, 
Washington thus expressed himself as to the Con- 
federation. '"The Confederation," he writes, "ap- 
pears to me to be little more than a shadow with- 
out the substance, and Congress a migratory body, 
their ordinances being little attended to. To me 
it is a solecism in politics; indeed it is one of the 
most extraordinary things in nature, that we 
should confederate as a nation, and yet be afraid 
to give the rulers of that nation * * * suffi- 
cient powers to order and direct the affairs of the 
same. By such policy as this the wheels of gov- 
ernment are clogged, and our brightest prospects, 
and that high expectation which was entertained 
of us by the wondering world, are turned into 
astonishment; and from the high ground on which 
we stood, we are descending into the vale of con- 
fusion and darkness."^ ^ 

Again he expresses himself as to a national pol- 
icy. "I have ever been a friend," says Washington, 
"to adequate powers in Congress, without which it 
is evident to me, we never shall establish a na- 
tional character, or be considered as on a respect- 

"Sparks, IX, 139. 



WASHINGTON AND THE CONFEDERATION. 41 

able footing by the powers of Europe. — We are 
either a united people under one head and for 
federal purposes, or we are thirteen independent 
sovereignties, eternally counteracting each other. 
— If the former, whatever such a majority of the 
States as the Constitution points out, conceives to 
be for the benefit of the whole, should in my 
humble opinion, be submitted to by the minority. — 
I can foresee no evil greater than disunion; than 
those unreasonable jealousies (I say unreasonable 
because I would have a proper jealousy alwaj'S 
awake, and the United States on the watch to 
prevent individual States from infracting the Con- 
stitution, with impunity) which are continually 
poisoning our minds and filling them with imagin- 
ary evils for the prevention of real ones."^- 

In a letter to the illustrious patriot, John Jay,^^ 
then Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Washington 
was of the opinion that public affairs were draw- 
ing rapidly to a crisis. "We have errors," said he, 
"to correct. We have probabl}^ had too good an 
opinion of human nature in forming our confed- 
eration. Experience has taught us that men will 
not adopt and carry into execution measures the 
best calculated for their own good, without the 
intervention of coercive power. I do not conceive 
we can exist long as a nation, without lodging 
somewhere, a power which will pervade the whole 
Union in as energetic a manner as the authoritj- 

^^Sparks, IX, 121. 

'"The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, was born in the city of New York, December 12, 1745; died 
May 17, 1829. 



42 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

of the State government extends over the several 
States. * * * What a triumph for the advo- 
cates of despotism to find that we are incapable of 
governing ourselves, and that systems, founded on 
the basis of equal liberty, are merely ideal and 
fallacious! Would to God that wise measures 
may be taken in time to avert the consequences 
we have but too much reason to apprehend."^* 

Again, in a letter to James Madison he says, 
"The consequences of a lax or inefficient govern- 
ment are too obvious to be dwelt upon. Thirteen 
sovereignties pulling against each other, and all 
tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin 
on the whole; whereas, a liberal and energetic 
Constitution, well checked and well watched, to 
prevent encroachments, might restore us to that 
degree of respectability and consequence to which 
we had the fairest prospect of attaining."^^ 

In a letter to Lafayette, in 1783, four years 
before the framing of the Constitution by the Con- 
vention at Philadelphia, Washington said: "We 
are now an independent people, and have yet to 
learn political tactics. We are placed among the 
nations of the earth, and have a character to estab- 
lish; but how we shall acquit ourselves time must 
discover. The probability is (at least I fear it), 
that local or State politics will interfere too much 
with the more liberal and extensive plan of gov- 
ernment which wisdom and foresight, freed from 
the mist of prejudice, would dictate; and that we 

"Irving's "Life of Washing-ton," Vol. 3, p. 239. 
'^Irving's "Life of Washington," Vol. 3, p. 242. 



WASHINGTON AND THE CONFEDERATION. 48 

shall be guilty of many blunders in treading this 
boundless theatre before we shall have arrived at 
any perfection in this art; in a word, that the 
experience which is purchased at the price of diffi- 
culties and distress, will alone convince us, that 
the honor, power, and true interest of this country 
must be measured by a continental scale, and that 
every departure therefrom weakens the Union, 
and may ultimately break the band Avhich holds 
us together. To avert these evils, to form a new 
Constitution, that will give consistency, stability, 
and dignity to the Union, and sufficient power to 
the great Council of the Nation for general pur- 
poses, is a dntj incumbent on ever^^ man who 
wishes well to his country, and will meet with my 
aid as far as it can be rendered in the private 
walks of life." 

B}^ these and other expressions, Washington, 
although in retirement at Mount Yeruon, was ex- 
ercising a powerful influence on national affairs; 
after his long service as a soldier, he was now 
becoming the statesman, and preparing the way 
for a better Constitution and a more effective gov- 
ernment. Indeed, he foreshadowed our present 
Constitution. 



44 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

CHAPTER III. 

WASHINGTON AND THE CONSTITUTION. 

With siicii a condition of affairs confronting 
them, Washington, Hamilton,^*^ Franklin,^^ Madi- 
son, and other patriots of the Revolution, with 
Washington at their head, sought a remedy; and 
out of their patriotic efforts the Constitution was 
framed, and adopted by "We, the people of the 
United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquil- 
lity, provide for the common defence, promote the 
general welfare, aud secure the blessings of liberty 
to ourselves and our posterit}.'"^ To secure all 
these, the Articles of Confederation were defect- 
ive, and hence their enumeration in the preamble 
to the Constitution, 

The Union of tlie Colonies was made a per- 
petual Union of States, by the Articles of Confed- 
eration; this a "more perfect union," by the Con- 
stitution; and finally it was welded into an ever- 
lasting union, by loyalty to that Constitution. 

""Alexander Hamilton, soldier, lawyer, and statesman, was born 
on the Island of Nevis, British West Indies, in January, 1757. 
Educated at King's (now Columbia) College, and was distinguished 
as a good speaker and writer, while yet a lad. Entered the Revo- 
lutionary airny, and became Washington's favorite aide. He 
served with great efficiency until the close of the war; and then 
made the law his profession. He had the most original and con- 
structive mind, probably, of any of the statesmen who framed 
th^^ Constitution; and to him we are largely indebted for the prin- 
cii)Ies upon which the Constitution was constructed, and for its 
adoption by the people. Washington made him the first Secretary 
of the Treasury. Died July 4, 1804, of a wound received in a duel 
with Aaron Burr. 

'"Benjamin Franklin, an eminent philosopher and statesman, 
was born in Boston, 1706. He rendered distinguished services to 
the cause of American independence, and was one of the most 
eminent of the patriots who framed the Constitution, 1787. He died 
in Philadelphia, full of years and honors, in 1790. 

^8For Constitution, see Chapter 5 of Book II. 



WASHINGTON AND THE CONSTITUTION, 45 

The people, by this Constitution, distributed 
their powers among the National and State Gov- 
ernments; and they retained whatever govern- 
mental powers remained, after this distribution. 
In this division and distribution of powders, the 
United States, among other things, guaranteed to 
every State in the Union a republican form of 
government.^'* And it was agreed that this Con- 
stitution and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treat- 
ies made, or which shall be made under the author- 
ity of the United States, shall be the supreme law 
of the land; and the judges in every State shall 
be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or 
laws of any State to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing.-*^ By this agreement State Constitutions and 
laws, were subordinated to the Constitution of 
the United States, its laws, and treaties. They 
also provided an arbiter, in cases of conflict, — the 
Supreme Court of the United States, whose deci- 
sions are final. Thus the people, as between the 
State and the Nation, vested supreme sovereignty 
in the Government of the United States: hence 
paramount allegiance is due the Nation, — it knows 
no superior. 

In whatever way it may have been brought 
about,^^ it is certain that the Constitution was 
made by the people of the United States, acting 
in their sovereign capacity, for their own guidance 

"See Section 4, of Article IV, of the Constitution. 
^"Article VI of the Constitution. 

"See "Sketch of the Origin of the Constitution," Chapter 5 of 
Book II. 



46 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

in exercising their sovereiii;u power, and became 
a compact between themselves and every one of 
their number. This the people had a right to do; 
for since the Ivevoliition, at least, all political sov- 
ereignty belongs to the people. The supreme, ab- 
solute, and uncontrollable power is in the people 
of America. They have the right to make and 
unmake constitutions. The^- exercised this right 
in making the Constitution of the United States, 
as a substitute for the Articles of Confederation, 
the parties to which "were free, sovereign and 
independent political communties — each possess- 
ing within itself all the powers of legislation and 
government, over its own citizens, which any polit- 
ical society can possess."-- By this instrument the 
thirteen orgiual States became united together for 
certain purposes, and the instrument was styled 
"Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union 
between the States." The political body thus 
formed was entitled "The United States of Amer- 
ica." 

This instrument was adopted by the several 
States in their corporate capacity. But, in so 
doing, thej^ exercised, however, sovereignty whicli 
rightfully belonged to the people. B}- its provi- 
sions an uncontrollable sovereignty was left in 
the States. A national government thus organ- 
ized bore the seeds of its own death. States were 
the object of its decrees, instead of individuals, as 
under the Constitution; and it had no power to 
enforce them. 

"Curtis, "Constitutional History of the United States." 



WASHINGTON AND THE CONSTITUTION, 47 

To obviate the many weaknesses of the Con- 
federation, the people reconstructed the fabric of 
government — both state and national. To one 
the}' gave certain powers; to the other certain 
other- powers, — keeping the remainder them- 
selves; the fee simple of all power still belonging 
to them. 

The theory, of John C. Calhoun,-^ of South Car- 
olina, and his followers, that the States, as free, 
and independent sovereignties, made the Consti- 
tution and constituted the National Government 
their common agent for certain purposes; and 
that, therefore, a State had the right to withdraw 
or secede from the Union at pleasure, is not borne 
out by the facts nor by the law. The framers of 
the Constitution, understanding the weakness of 
the Union made b}^ the Articles of Confederation 
in such manner, avoided that rock of destruction 
by giving the people of the United States an op- 

=^John C. Calhoun was born in South Carolina, 1782. Entered 
Congress, ISll, and served in both Houses many years. Secretary 
of War for President Monroe, ISIT. Elected Vice-President U. S., 
1825; re-elected with President Jackson, 1S2S, and resijjned, 1S32, be- 
cause of the attitude the President assumed against South Caro- 
lina when that Stale attempted to put in force Calhoun's "Nulli- 
fication" and "Secession" doctrines, on account of a protective 
tariff law having been passed by Congress which South Carolina 
thought was detrimental to its interests. Calhoun elected to the 
Senate of the U. S., 1832. Secretary of State for President Tyler, 
1843. Re-elected U. S. Senator, 1815, serving until his death in 1850. 

Calhoun taug'ht the doctrine that slavery is "a positive good," 
an advantage alike to the negro and to his owner; that the States 
are free and independent sovereignties, and as such made the 
Constitution: that the States, therefore, had the right to nullify a 
law of Congress or to secede from the Union. The logical result 
of his teachings was the Civil War. 

Webster, in his great reply to Hayne, in the Senate of the U. S., 
1830, and in other speeches, demolished Calhoun's theories, but they 
still remained the evil geniur of the country— and bore the fruit 
of rebellion. Webster clearly demonstrated that the government 
of the V. S. is a government proper, established by the people of 
the U. S., and not a compact between sovereign States; that within 
its limits it is supreme, and that no branch of government— State 
or National— except the Suprem.e Court of the U. S., has the right 
to determine whether or not if has acted within its limits— from 
which there is no appeal, but to revolution. 



48 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

portiinity, in their sovereigu and aggregate capac- 
ity, to adopt a Constitution representing their 
sovereign power, instead of sovereign States. The 
Constitution speaks in the name of "We, the people 
of the United States"; while the Confederation 
spoke in the name of "free, sovereign and inde- 
pendent States." It is true the people of the 
United States did not assemble in mass and adopt 
the Constitution, but they elected representatives 
from their numbei'S, in their respective States, who 
adopted it. This was in harmony with a repub- 
lican form of government. 

This theorj^ of Calhoun's was originated out of 
a desire to obtain and retain political power for 
certain purposes, and because of a change in the 
moral and political philosophy of the South, in the 
interest of a Power determined to rule the Nation 
and make it subservient to its own selfish inter- 
ests. But for this, no such theory would have been 
originated and advocated with such powerful 
vehemence and determination, as it was. Its per- 
sistent advocacy, and the interests it was intended 
to promote, bore the fruit of rebellion and civil 
war. 

The People's Government, however, still exists, 
notwithstanding its internal foes; these grow less 
and less as the years go by. And the time will 
come when all shall bow in reverence to it as the 
best government yet devised by man, because of 
the great impulse it has given to freedom, — every- 
where. 

The idea that we are a nation — one people — 



WASHINGTON AND THE CONSTITUTION. 49 

undivided and indivisible, should be taught in 
every home and school in the Ivepublie. It should 
be the central idea of the politics of America. 

Soon after the Convention, which framed the 
Constitution, had completed its labors, but before 
the Constitution had been adopted by the people, 
Washington thus expressed himself as to its mer- 
its, in a letter written to Lafa} ette! "It appears 
a little short of a miracle," writes he, "that the 
delegates from so many States, different from each 
other, as you know, in their manners, circum- 
stances, and prejudices, should unite in forming a 
system of national government so little liable to 
well-founded objections. Nor am I such an enthu- 
siastic, partial, or indiscriminating admirer of it, 
as not to perceive it is tinctured Avith some real, 
though not radical defects. With regard to the 
two great points, the pivots upon which the whole 
machine must move, my creed is simply, First, that 
the general government is not invested with more 
powers than are indispensably necessary to per- 
form the functions of a good government; and 
consequently, that no objection ought to be made 
against the quantity of power delegated to it. 

"Secondly, that these powers, as the appoint- 
ment of all rulers will forever arise from, and at 
short, stated intervals recur to, the free suffrages 
of the people, are so distributed among the legis- 
lative, executive, and judicial branches into which 
the general government is arranged, that it can 
never be in danger of degenerating into a mon- 
archy, an oligarchy, an aristocracy, or any other 



50 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

despotic or oppressive form, so long as there shall 
remain any virtue in the body of the people. 

"It vi'ill at least be a recommendation to the 
proposed Constitution, that it is provided with 
more checks and barriers against the introduction 
of tyrann}^, and those of a nature less liable to be 
surmounted, than any government hitherto insti- 
tuted among mortals. 

"We are not to expect perfection in this world; 
but mankind in modern times, have apparently 
made some progress in the science of government. 
Should that which is now offered to the people of 
America, be found on experiment less perfect than 
it can be made, a constitutional door is left open 
for its amelioration."^^ 

Again, after the Constitution had been adopted 
by the people, Washington said in a letter written 
to Johnathan Trumbull, "We may with a kind of 
pious and grateful exultation, trace the finger of 
Providence through those dark and mysterious 
events, which first induced the States to appoint a 
general convention, and then led them, one after 
another, by such steps as were best calculated to 
effect the object, into an adoption of the system 
recommended by the General Convention; thereby, 
in all human probability, laying a lasting founda- 
tion for tranquillity and happiness, when we had 
but too much reason to fear that confusion and 
misery were coming rapidly upon us,"-"' 

In all the trials and vicissitudes through which 

-*Irving's "Life of Washington," Vol. 3, p. 245. 
25lrving's "Life of Washington," Vol. 3, p. 246-7. 



WASHINGTON AND THE CONSTITUTION. 51 

his country had passed, Washington had always 
recognized the Supreme Kuler as moving the 
hearts of men in favor of liberty', and good gov- 
ernment; he attributed deliverance, from evils, 
to that Power who guides the destinies of men 
and of nations. Indeed, it may be said, that he 
traced "the finger of Providence" in all "those 
dark and mysterious events," through which the 
new Nation had passed. Who will say that he 
was not right? 

To act well f or^ the state, says Sallust,-*^ is glo- 
rious; virtue alone confers immortality^ That 
Washington acted well for the state; that he dis- 
played those virtues which confer immortality has 
not been denied to him by his countrymen, nor 
by the world. Indeed, the whole world has adopt- 
ed him as the representative of virtue, of liberty, 
and of good government. His name and virtues 
will go down through all the ages; though dead 
he yet speaks to the Republic, and to mankind. 

By the adoption of this new Constitution the 
United States of America became a living Nation, 
among the nations of the world, with a Republican 
form of government; and the formation and adop- 
tion of that Constitution will go down in history, 
as the crowning act of the fathers of the Republic. 

As a tribute to the virtues of Washington, the 
people made him the first President under the new 
Constitution; thus equipped, the new Republic 
started on its great career of progress, on the 
fourth day of March, 1789. 

-^A Roman historian, born 86 B. C. 



52 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

I turn now to consider some matters occurring 
during the formation of the Constitution, and oth- 
ers, connected with the welfare of the llepublic, 
for good or for ill. 



CHAPTER IV. 

EFFECTS OF THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 

While the Convention which formed the Con- 
stitution was in session, in 1787, at Philadelphia, 
— where liberty and independence rang out their 
first notes to the world, — with Washington as its 
President, the Congress of the United States, then 
acting under the Articles of Confederation, enact- 
ed an Ordinance, which for its far-reaching effects, 
on the destiny of the Republic, was only second to 
the Constitution itself. That was the Ordinance 
of 1787,^''' some of the principles of which had been 
enunciated by Thomas Jelferson several years be- 
fore, — for the organization and government of all 
that portion of the national domain northwest of 
the Ohio River — a large empire within itself — and 
out of which five States were afterAvards organized 
and admitted to the Union; these were the States 
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wiscon- 
sin. 

This territory had been ceded to the United 
States by Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, 
and New York, several years prior to the adoption 

27For Ordinance 1787, see Chapter 4 of Book II. 



EFFECTS OF THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 63 

of the Constitution of the United States; and the 
whole region was a vast wilderness and solitude, 
with some trifling exceptions, upon which no laws, 
but the laws of nature, had ever operated. Civili- 
zation knew it not. 

Behold it now with its millions of people, an<l 
Chicago — Queen of the Lakes — its great metrop- 
olis; where but lately^^ assembled representatives 
of the nations of the earth, in honor of the Dis- 
coverer of the New World, and to witness the 
marvelous progress of the Republic in civilization. 

This wilderness territory gave a grand oppor- 
tunity to carry out the principles embodied in the 
Declaration. "No ancient rubbish," says an emi- 
nent law writer, "was to be cleared away; no time 
hallowed prejudices to be overcome. All was open 
and free, as an unsullied sheet, to receive the best 
impressions of legislative wisdom. Under such 
auspices, this Ordinance was drawn up, by the late 
Nathan Dane, of Massachusetts, almost word for 
word as it now stands; and for brevity, compre- 
hension, and forecast, it has no superior in the 
annals of legislation." 

"I doubt," says Daniel Webster,^'' "whether one 
single law of any law-giver, ancient or modern, 
has produced effects of more distinct, marked, and 
lasting character than the Ordinance of 1787." 

281892-93. 

28Daniel Webster, one of the greatest, if not the greatest of 
American oi-ators, jurists, and statesmen, was born in Salisbury, 
New Hampshiie, January 18, 1782. At the age of fifteen he entered 
Dartmouth College, where he graduated. Commenced the study 
of law in his native village, which he completed in Boston, in 1805. 
He first practiced his profession near his early home; but, not 
long after, feeling the necessity of a wider sphere of action, he 



54 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

By its provisions, tliis vast territory was dedi- 
cated to freedom; wliile the territory south of the 
Ohio River v^as afterwards devoted to slavery; 
and out of which four States were carved and ad- 
mitted to the Union. These were the States of 
Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.^" 

It provided, among other things, that, "There 
shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude 
in the said Territory otherwise than in the punish- 
ment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted: Provided, always, That any per- 
son escaping into the same, from whom labor or 
service is lawfully claimed in any one of the orig- 
inal States, such fugitive may be lawfully re- 



removed to Portsmouth, where he soon gained a prominent posi- 
tion. In 1812 he was elected to Congress, where he displayed re- 
markable powers both as a debater and an orator. In 1S17 he re- 
moved to Boston, and resumed the practice of his profession with 
the highest distinction. In 1822 he was elected to Congress from 
Boston; and in 1827 was chosen U. S. Senator, from Massachusetts. 
From that period he was seldom out of public life, having been 
twice Secretary of State of the United States in which office he died 
at Marshflield, October 24, 1852. 

Webster's defence of the Union and his exposition of the Con- 
stitution, in his great reply to Hayne in the Senate of the U. S., 
in 1830, has been called "the most remarkable speech ever made 
in the American Congress." He made Americans realize the in- 
estimable value and sacredness of the Union by this, and other 
gr?at speeches he made during 1830-1833. He will always be known 
as the "Great Expounder" of the Constitution. 

^''The Continental Congress, in 1784, proposed a plan for the 
government of all the Western Territory, then including the whole 
region west of the original thirteen States, as far south as the 
thirty-flrst degree of north latitude. The plan was submitted by 
a committee, of which Thomas Jefferson was chairman. It con- 
templated the ultimate division of that territory into seventeen 
states, eight of them below the latitude of the present city of 
I.ouisville, in Kentucky. Among the provisions for the government 
of that region reported by Jefferson was the following: "That 
after the year 1800 of the Christian era, there shall be neither 
slavery nor involuntary serA'itude in any of the said States, other- 
wise than in punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have 
been convicted to be personally guilty." This clause was stricken 
out, April 19, 1784, on motion of Mr. Spaight, of North Carolina, 
seconded by Mr. Read, of South Carolina. A majority of the States 
were against striking it out, but the Articles of Confederation 
required a vote of nine States to carry a proposition. July 13, 1787, 
the Ordinance of 1787 was pas='.ed— the final result of the effort 
made in 1784. See Journals of Congress. 



EFFECTS OF THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 56 

claimed and conveyed to the person claiming his 
or her labor or service as aforesaid."^^ 

It also provided and declared that, "Religion, 
morality and knowledge, being necessary to good- 
government and the happiness of mankind, schools 
and the means of education, shall be forever en- 
couraged."^^ 

This was a grand declaration, and fitting to be 
laid alongside of the Declaration of Independence, 
w^hen we consider that the basis of the best civil- 
ization is, religion, morality, and knowledge. The 
Northern States encouraged these from the begin- 
ning; and the descendants of the Puritans fol- 
lowed in the footsteps of their ancestors, and edu- 
cation was fostered with a jealous care. On the 
other hand the Southern States, from the begin 
ning, were adverse to the education of the mass 
of their people, who, as an eminent statesman of 
our early history says, "are very ignorant and very 
poor." During the Colonial days Sir William Ber- 
keley, governor of Yirgiuia, an English aristocrat 
and a stalwart upholder of the kingly idea of gov- 
ernment, said, in alluding to the free schools of 
New England, "I thank God there are no free 
schools nor printing presses here, and I hope we 
shall not have these hundred years. * * * Ood 
keep us from both." 

They looked upon education as necessary only 
for the aristocracy, and made no provision for 
the general education of the people. The children 

"Article VI. 

^'-ArticlQ III. *■ 



56 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

of the wealthy planters, who were possessed of 
large ijiunbers of slaves, were either educated in 
Eugland or in the institutions of the North; and 
this state of affairs was kept up until the Civil 
War, with but little, if any, improvement, notwith- 
standing the warning words of Jefferson,^^ near 
a hundred years ago, that free schools were an 
essential part — one of the columns, as he expressed 
it — of tlie republican edifice, and that "without 
instruction free to all, the sacred flame of liberty 
could not be kept burning in the hearts of Amer- 
icans." But his words, of patriotism and of devo- 
tion to freedom, were not heeded. 

Slavery seemed more to the South than any- 
thing else; and they, in the beginning of our na- 
tional existence, looked after its interests with a 
jealous care, — a care worthy of a better cause. 
The compromises made with it, from time to time, 
were the result of the tenacity of the South in its 
favor. Out of it and these, the South sought to 
perpetuate its power in the Nation. The avarice 
of the South, on that question, seemed to predom- 
inate over its conscience; and as avarice increased, 
as it did, conscience decreased; so that the people 
of the South, or rather its aristocracy, finally de- 
manded that slaver}^ should become a national in- 
stitution, and based that denmnd on the Consti- 
tution itself. Well had it been otherwise! 

'^^Thomas Jefferson, a great statesman and the third President 
of the United States, was boi-n in 1743, at Shadwell, Virginia. 
Drafted the Declaration of Independence. Associated with him, 
among otliers, to prepare tlie Declaration, was John Adams, one 
of the great patriots of tlie Revolution, and second President of 
the United States, who was born in Braintree, near Boston, 1735. 
Both he and Jefferson died on the 4th of July, 1826. 



DANGERS CONFRONTING MAKERS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 57 

But I have anticipated somewliat, and turn 
now, to consider some of the dangers confronting 
"the fathers" in framing the Constitution, and by 
that instrument make a more perfect Union. 



CHAPTER V. 

DANGERS CONFRONTING THE MAKERS OF THE CONSTI- 
TUTION AND RESULTS. 

The Constitution was the result of mature de- 
liberation on the part of the Convention which 
framed it, and sent it forth to the people for their 
ratitication. But, strange as it ma}^ appear, at 
the. present time, to those who have not given the 
matter attention, an element of discord was intro- 
duced in the formation of the Constitution. 

The existence of slavery was one of the chief 
obstacles, — probably the chief obstacle, — to the 
formation of the Constitution. It would seem 
that after making the declaration, "that all men 
are created equal," and fighting to maintain the 
same; and the further fact that Congress had de- 
clared in the Ordinance of 1787, that, "There shall 
be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in 
the said Territory," such would not have been the 
case. But so it was. 

In the language of Jefferson, "What an inconi- 
l>reheusible machine is man! who can endure toil, 
famine, strife, imprisonment, and death itself, in 
vindication of his own liberty, and the next mo- 



58 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

ment be deaf to all those motives whose power 
supported him yirough his trial, and inflict on his 
fellowman a bondage, one hour of which is fraught 
with more miserj- than ages of that which he rose 
in rebellion to oppose." 

Slavery had been fastened on the colonists, — at 
first against their will; but when the time came 
to form a national government with a Constitu- 
tion, which it was hoped would endure forever, 
stronger and better adapted to promote the Avel- 
fare and happiness of the people, than the Articles 
of Confederation, — one in harmony with the Dec- 
laration, — the delegates did not agree as to what 
disposition should be made of slavery, then exist- 
ing in nearly all the thirteen original States. The 
Northern States held but few slaves. Some none; 
and those who did have them soon freed them of 
their own accord, as they believed slavery to be 
wrong, and contrary to the spirit of free institu- 
tions.^^ At that time the question of the rightful- 
ness of slavery was being agitated to a large ex- 
tent, not only in this,but in other nations. But, 
notAvithstanding this, the Southern States looked 
with disfavor on the idea of freeing their slaves, 

^^Curtis, in his Constitutional History of thie United States, on 
page 420, says: "Although, at the time of the formation of the 
Constitution, slavery had been expressly abolished in two of the 
States only (Massachusetts and New Hampshire), the framers of 
that instrument practically treated all but the five Southern States 
—Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia 
—as if the institution had been already abolished within their 
limits, and counted all the colored persons therein, whether bond 
or free, as part of the free population; assuming that the eight 
Northern and Middle States would be free States, and that the 
five Southern States would continue to be slave States. This ap- 
pears from the whole tenor of the debates, in which the line is 
constantly drawn, as between slaveholding and non-slaveholding 
States, so as to throw eight States upon the Northern and five 
upon the Southern side." 



DANGERS CONFRONTING MAKERS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 59 

or of wiping out the slave trade, although some of 
their strongest and best men condemned it; Wash- 
ington, Madison, and Jefferson among the number. 

In 1774, Washington was chairman of a com- 
mittee which declared in regard to the slave trade: 
"We take this opportunity to declare our most 
earnest wish to see an entire stoj) put to such a 
wicked, cruel, and unnatural trade." 

In 1783, Washington wrote to Lafayette: "The 
scheme which you propose as a precedent to en- 
courage the emancipation of the black people of 
this country from the state of bondage in which 
they are held, is a practical evidence of the benev- 
olence of your heart. I shall be happy to join you 
in so laudable a work." 

Again, in 1786, he wrote Lafayette, "* * * 
Your late purchase of an estate in the colony of 
Cayenne, Avith a view of emancipating the slaves 
on it, is a generous and noble proof of your human- 
ity. Would to God a like spirit might diffuse itself 
generally into the minds of the people of this coun- 
try. But I despair of seeing it. Some petitions 
were presented to the Assembly (of Virginia), at 
its last session for the abolition of slavery, but 
they could scarcely obtain a reading." 

And again, in 1786, he wrote Robert Morris: 
"There is not a man living who wishes more sin- 
cerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the 
abolition of slavery. But there is but one proper 
and effective mode by which it can be accom- 
plished, and that is by legislative authority, and 



60 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

tills, as far as my support will go, shall never be 
wanting." 

In 1787, he wrote Mr. John F. Mercer, of Phila- 
delphia: "I never mean to possess another slave 
by purchase. * * * It is among mj^ first wish- 
es to see some plan adof)ted so that slavery in this 
country may be abolished by law." 

In 1797j Washington wrote his nephew, Law- 
rence Lewis: "I wish, from my soul, that the 
Legislature of Virginia could see the policy of the 
gradual abolition of slaver}^ It might prevent 
much future mischief." 

Madison^^ said, in regard to the abolition of the 
slave trade: "The dictates of humanity, the prin- 
ciples of the people, the national safety and happi- 
ness, and prudent policy, require it of us. It is to 
be hoped that by expressing a national disappro- 
bation of the trade, we may destroy it, and save 
our country from reproaches, and our posterity 

2"James Madison, fourth President of tlie United States, was 
born in Virginia, Marcli 16, 1751. Graduate of Princeton College, 
N. J., 1771. He and Alexander Hamilton of New York, were the 
foremost of the distinguished statesmen who framed the Consti- 
tution. Madison not only drafted the main features of the Con- 
stitution, but offered the first ten amendments in Congress. He 
was strongly in favor of having the Constitution submitted to the 
people of the United States — as it was— for adoption, instead of 
the State Legislatures; so that it might make a system of govern- 
ment founded on the consent of the people, and thus be a con- 
stitution of government ordained by those who hold the right to 
exercise all political power; and not a system of government 
founded by sovereign States, as was the Confederation. 

Madison was a member of the first Congress under the Con- 
stitution, 1789, continuing as such until 1797. Appointed Secretary 
of State by President Jefferson, ISOl. Elected President of the 
U. S., 1808. Re-elected for a second term. Died June 28, 1836. 

Madison was not a believer in the doctrines of "Secession" and 
"Nulliflcation"— advocated by Calhoun and his followers. In 1832. 
he said of the claimed right of a State to withdraw at will from 
the Union: "It is high time that the claim to secede at will 
should be put down by the public opinion." 

Again, in 1834, he said in regard to nullification: "Nulliflcation 
has the effect of putting powder under the Constitution and Union, 
and a match in the hand of every party to blow them up at 
pleasure." He said nullification and secession "both spring from 
the same poisonous root." 



DANGERS CONFRONTING MAKERS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 61 

from the imbecility ever attendant on a country 
filled with slaves. 

' "We have seen the mere distinction of color 
made, in the most enlightened period of time, a 
ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exer- 
cised by man over man. 

"It is wrong to admit into the Constitution the 
idea that there can be property in man." 

Jefferson in his "Notes on Virginia,"^^ 1781, 
said, "There must, doubtless, be an unhappy influ- 
ence on the manners of our people produced by the 
existence of slavery among us. The whole com- 
merce between master and slave is a perpetual 
exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most 
unremitting despotism on the one part, and de- 
grading submissions on the other. Our children 
see this, and learn to imitate.it; for man is an 
imitative animal. This quality is the germ of all 
education in him. From his cradle to his grave 
he is learning to do what he sees others do. If a 
parent could find no motive either in his philan- 
thropy, or his self love, for restraining the intem- 
perance of passion towards his slave, it should 
always be a sufficient one that his child is present. 
But generally it is not sufficient. The parent 
storms, the child looks on, catches the lineaments 
of wrath, puts on the same airs to the circle of 
smaller slaves, gives aloose to the worst of pas- 
sions, and thus nursed, educated, and daily exer- 
cised, cannot but be stamped by it with odious 
peculiarities. The man must be a prodigy who 

36Page 240. 



62 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

can retain his manners and morals undepraved by 
sncli circumstances. And with what execration 
should the Statesman be loaded, who, permitting 
one-half the citizens thus to trample on the rights 
of the other, transforms those into despots, and 
these into enemies; destro^^s the morals of the 
one part, and the amor patriae of the other. For 
if a slave can have a country in this world, it 
must be any other in preference to that in whi(-h 
he is born to live and labor for another, in w^hich 
he must lock up the faculties of his nature, con- 
tribute, as far as depends on his individual endeav- 
ors, to the evanishmeut of the human race, or to 
entail his own miserable condition on the endless 
generations proceeding from him. 

"With the morals of the people their industry 
also is destroyed. For in a warm climate no man 
will labor for himself who can make another labor 
for him. This is so true, that of the proprietors 
of slaves a very small proportion, indeed, are ever 
seen to labor. 

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought 
secure when we have removed their only firm 
basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that 
these liberties are the gift of God; that they are 
not to be violated but with his wrath?" 

He denounced slavery as "a violation of human 
rights"; and said that not only honor, but the 
"best interests of the country" demanded its ex- 
tinction. "Indeed," said he, "I tremble for my 
country when I reflect that God is just." 

The delegates in that Convention from South 



DANGERS CONFRONTING MAKERS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 63 

Carolina and Georgia announced, upon the pro- 
posal to suppress the slave trade immediately, that 
if this were done those States would not become 
part of the Union, for they must have slaves. Rut- 
ledge said, "Religion and humanity have nothing 
to do with this question. Interest alone is the gov- 
erning principle with nations. The true question 
at present is whether the Southern States shall or 
shall not be parties to the Union." Charles C. 
Pinckney said, "South Carolina can never receive 
the plan if it prohibit the slave trade." He was 
an able and strenuous supporter of the interests 
of the South in all that related to their right to 
hold and increase their slave population. He con- 
tended earnestly against a grant of authority to 
the general government to prohibit the importa- 
tion of slaves. Georgia and North Carolina took 
the same position. 

This was not the first time that South Carolina 
and Georgia had taken a stand in favor of the 
slave trade, and determined that they would not 
agree to anything which looked towards a dis- 
continuance of it. When the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was under consideration in the Conti- 
nental Congress, the following clause in the orig- 
inal draft of the Declaration, reprobating the en- 
slaving the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out 
in complaisance to South Carolina and Georgia, 
who had never attempted to restrain the importa- 
tion of slaves, and who, on the contrary, still 
wished to continue it:^^ 

^^Jefferson's Writings, Vol. I, p. 15. 



64 A PHJLOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

"He (George IIP*) has waged cruel war against 
human nature itself, violating its most sacred 
rights of life and liberty in the persons of a dis- 
tant people who never offended him, captivating 
and carrying them into slavery in another hemi- 
sphere, or to incur miserable death in their trans- 
portation thither. This piratical warfare, the op- 
probrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the 
Christian king of Great Britain. Determined to 
keep open a market where men should be bought 
and sold, he has prostituted his negative for sup- 
pressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or 
restrain this execrable commerce. And that this 
assemblage of horrors might want no fact of dis- 
tinguished d^^e, he is now exciting those very peo- 
ple to rise in arms among us, and to purchase 
that liberty of which he has deprived them, by 
murdering the people on whom he has obtruded 
them; thus paying off former crimes committed 
against the liberties of one people, with crimes 
which he urges them to commit against the lives 
of another." 

That was a critical time, and because of the 
opposition of those States, that clause was strick- 
en out of the Declaration. But a still more critical 
time was now at hand. If the new Nation, which 
had so recently achieved its independence, after 
so long a struggle, did not form a Constitution 
stronger and better than the Articles of Confed- 
eration, — a more perfect Union, — in all probability 
the Eepublic would cease to exist, and each State 

3«King of England. 



GANGERS CONFRONTING MAKERS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 65 

would form a Nation of its own. This could not 
be, — must not be! The Union must be formed or 
else all their labor for freedom and independence 
be in vain. So out of the necessities of the case 
a compromise was made with slavery, — broader, 
and one with far more reaching effects, than the 
first concession made by the Ordinance of 1787. 
This compromise was made a part of the Consti- 
tution, but the word "slave" or "slavery" was not 
used in making it. The concessions made were 
three, as follows: 

First. — Representatives and direct taxes shall 
be apportioned among the several States which 
may be included within this Union, according to 
their respective numbers, which shall be deter- 
mined by adding to the whole number of free per- 
sons, including those bound to service for a term 
of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three- 
fifths of all other persons.^'' 

Second. — The migration or importation of such 
persons as any of the States now existing shall 
think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by 
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight . 
hundred and eight; but a tax or duty may be im- 
posed on such importation, not exceeding ten dol- 
lars for each person.**' 

Third. — No person held to service or labor in 
one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into 
another, shall, in consequence of any law or reg- 
ulation therein, be discharged from such service 
or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the 

seSee Section 2, Article I, of Constitution. 
«See Section 9. Article I, of Constitution- 
5 



66 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

party to whom such service or labor may be due.^^ 

By these forced concessions the obstacles to 
the formation of the Union were removed. The 
result of that compromise was the recognition of 
slavery b}^ the Constitution. 

Thus the Republic was built upon two antag- 
onistic civilizations, the g*erms of which had long 
before been planted. From that time on these two 
civilizations developed rapidly; and in that devel- 
opment they grew more and more antagonistic, 
as might be expected, for one was founded on 
"right"; and the other on "wrong." 

The time came when the one or the other of 
these civilizations must prevail. Both could not 
exist under the same flag, and in the same country. 
They met amid the clash of arms, and the "right" 
triumphed. In that conflict our country became 
a great battlefield, and the spirit of freedom and 
union was triumphant over the spirit of slavery 
and disunion. 

A civilization based on a "wrong" cannot en- 
dure. Justice is sure and is meted out to states* 
and nations as well as to individuals. The ren- 
dering of the decree may be long delayed. But it 
is one of the immutable laws of the "higher 
power," — to which all are subject, — that sooner 
or later the decree will be entered. So it was in 
the history of our Republic. In its evolution the 
forces of right and wrong long contended; but 
finally the decree went forth enforcing the decla- 
ration and the law, that all men are created 
equal. 

"See Section 2, Article IV, of Constitution. 



PART II. 



TWO CIVILIZATIONS— THUIR RISE AND DEVELOPMENT- 
THE FALL OP ONE AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE OTHER. 



CHAPTER I. 

PLANTING GERMS AND SOME RESULTS. 

The faith of one mau, — Columbus, — and the 
faith of one woman, — Queen Isabella, — in that 
man, gave opportunity for the founding of a Re- 
public in the New World, on a large scale, based 
upon the principle that all men are created equal. 

Every age has produced great men. But it was 
left for the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries 
to bring forth men imbued with the spirit of lib- 
erty to all mankind. The eighteenth century pro- 
duced a Washington; the nineteenth a Lincoln. 
Both firmly believed in a government "of the peo- 
ple, by the people, and for the people"; that all 
men are created equal, and that freedom, — both 
civil and religious, — is the natural right of man. 

Washington became the founder of such a gov- 
ernment, — our Republic,- — and Lincoln its pre- 
server. 

The history of a great Republic, like ours, 
should be the study of all who love liberty. This 
Republic has no parallel in the history of nations. 
Indeed, it stands out unique and alone as the only 

67 



68 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISfORV. 

Republic which fully illustrates constitutional 
liberty in all its beneficence, power, and grandeur. 

There ever has been, and probably ever will be, 
a conflict going on between "right" and "wrong," 
But, sometime the right triumphs over the wrong. 
The day of triumph may be long delayed, but 
come it will. " 

This Republic was not born and reared with- 
out a conflict. It has grown to its present great- 
ness through the blood of its people. They were 
willing to offer themselves as a sacrifice that all 
might enjoy freedom, — both civil and religious. 
The sacrifice has been made; and behold, a land 
where all enjoy that freedom! 

Let us inquire as to the evolutionary process 
of the formation of our present Republic. Its 
formation began during the early part of the sev- 
enteenth century. During that century the germs 
of two diverse and antagonistic civilizations were 
planted in this country. One on the rocky shores 
of Massachusetts, by a race descended from the 
Saxon; the other in Virginia, by an English aris- 
tocracy, the descendants of the Norman Cavalier. 
The first was founded on the principle of freedom 
to all; the second, on the idea that some are born 
to rule, others to serve. 

It needs no argument, at this late day, to prove 
that that civilization based on freedom was right; 
and that the other based on slavery was wrong. 

For over two centuries these two civilizations 
developed side by side. In that development each 



PLANTING GERMS AND SOME RESULTS. 69 

produced fruit according to its kind. The one good 
fruit and the other bad. 

As the course of Empire turned westward, 
these two civilizations moved out side by side 
towards the setting sun. The descendants of the 
Puritan hewed a way through the wilderness for 
the march of liberty, equality, and human rights; 
the followers of the Cavalier led a mournful pro- 
cession to the music of the sad song of the slave. 

Human avarice brought the slave and the 
slaveholder to the shores of the New World, and 
this was the result. 

Our history ma}' be divided into four periods. 
The first, the Colonial, while we were under the 
control of England; the second, the Revolution- 
ary, wherein we gained our independence by arms; 
the third, the Union of the States into a govern- 
ment; and the fourth, the maintenance of that 
Union by arms. 

The history of these four periods shows the 
foundation upon which our Republic rests, its 
strength, and probable perpetuity. 

During the Colonial period there was a bond 
of sympathy between the people of these diverse 
civilizations, in that both were desirous of throw- 
ing off the yoke of the common oppressor, — Eng- 
land, — and they united to free themselves from 
that oppressor. 

On the fourth day of July, 1776, their repre- 
sentatives promulgated the Great Charter of our 
Independence, announcing to the world, "that all 
men are created equal; that they are endowed by 



70 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that 
among- these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness." They concluded that great instrument 
by declaring, "that these United Colonies are, and 
of right ought to be, free and independent States; 
that they are absolved from all allegiance to the 
British Crown, and that all political connection 
between them and the state of Great Britain is, 
and ought to be, totally dissolved."^ And, for the 
support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on 
the protection of Divine Providence, they mutually 
pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, 
and their sacred honor. 

Washington and his compatriots fought to 
maintain that declaration, and, after an heroic 
struggle, won. Thus by the Declaration and the 
arbitrament of war, the United Colonies became 
"free and independent States." Free and inde- 
pendent of Great Britain, but not, however, free 
and independent of each other. For at the begin- 
ning of that struggle they united, first, as Colonies; 
second, as States into a Confederacy;^ and finally, 
after the struggle was over, entered into a "more 
perfect union" by the Constitution of the United 
States, adopted by the people of all the States.^ 
Thus the United States became a nation, among 
the nations of the world, with a republican form 
of government. 

At the time of the formation of the Union and 
the adoption of the Constitution, in 1787-8, slavery 

iPor Declaration of Independence, see Chapter 2 of Book II. 
-For Articles of Confederation, see Chapter 3 of Book II. 
^For Constitution, see Chapter 5 of Book II. 



PLANTING GERMS AND SOME RESULTS. 71 

existed in nearly all of the States to a greater or 
less extent. There were but few slaves in an^^ of 
the Northern States — the great bulk of them being 
in the Southern States. The Northern States soon 
did away with slavery, but the South still con- 
tinued it; although it is a well known historical 
fact that the fathers of the Republic regarded 
slavery as an evil and hoped it would be abolished 
by all the States. At the time of the adoption of 
the Constitution, they saw no other way, under 
the circumstances, than to trust its extirpation to 
the people, believing that, in time, they would vol- 
untarily do away with it. But, in this, they were 
mistaken. 

Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, said in 
1861: "The prevailing ideas entertained by him 
(Jefferson) and most of the leading statesmen at 
the time of the formation of the Constitution were, 
that the enslavement of the African was in viola- 
tion of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in 
principle, socially, morally and politically. It 
was an evil they knew not well how to deal with; 
but the general opinion of the men of that day 
was, that, somehow or other, in the order of provi- 
dence, the institution would be evanescent and 
pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in 
the Constitution, was the prevailing idea at the 
time. The Constitution, it is true, secured every 
guarantee to the institution while it should last, 
and hence no argument can be justly used against 
the Constitutional guarantees thus secured, be- 
cause of the common sentiment of the day. Those 



72 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They 
rested upon the assumption of the equality of the 
races. This was an error." * * * "The negro 
by nature, or b}^ the curse against Canaan, is fitted 
for that condition which he occupies in our sys- 
tem." "The negro," said Mr. Stephens, "is not 
equal to the white man"; and, "slavery, subordi- 
nation to the superior race, is his natural and nor- 
mal condition. It is, indeed, in conformity with 
the ordinance of the Creator. It is not for us to 
inquire into the wisdom of His ordinances or to 
question them." 

Although all the Northern States did away 
with slavery, and Washington and others of the 
founders of the Republic, living in Southern 
States, freed their slaves, yet the people of the 
Southern States, or rather its aristocracy, re- 
tained it and nursed it with a jealous care, and 
began to advocate the idea that they could not 
get along without it, and that the ideas of the 
"fathers" were "fundamental!}' wrong." This idea, 
and their jealousy of the institution, grew in in- 
tensity as the years rolled by. Thus, a slavehold- 
ing aristocracy grew up in the Republic very dan- 
gerous to its existence. For this aristocracy sub- 
ordinated everything to its own selfish interests. 

In 1838 a distinguished Representative from 
South Carolina, declared, in the Congress of the 
United States, that "many worthy men, who were 
formerly somewhat uneasy at the existence of 
this institution, now feel themselves called upon 
by every motive, personal and private, by every 



PLANTING GERMS AND SOME RESULTS. 73 

consideration, public and patriotic, to guard it 
with the most jealous watchfulness, — to defend it 
at every hazard." These were the sentiments of 
all those in the South who had embraced the new 
moral and political philosophy of John C Calhoun, 
Kobt. Y. Hayne,^ — with whom Webster had his 
great debate in 1830, — and others, who were seek- 
ing to perpetuate slavery and its power in the 
Nation. 

This slaveholding aristocracy became arrogant 
and tyrannical, — as all aristocracies do. It con- 
trolled the State governments of the South, and 
largely dominated in the councils of the Nation, 
aided by a portion of the people of the North who 
were in sympathy with them and belonged to the 
same political party. Although the State govern- 
ments of the South were republican in name, in 
fact they were oligarchies. 

In consequence of this state of things the com- 
mon people of the South were in degradation, — 
even lower than the slaves, — and exercised no in- 
fluence in governmental affairs; these being en- 
tirely in the hands of the slaveholding aristoc- 
racy. Labor was degraded, and the free laborer 
was regarded as being lower than the slave. For 
a white man to labor was considered a degrada- 
tion. Public education was neglected, and, indeed. 



^Robert Y. Hayne was born near Charleston, S. C, in 1791. Be- 
came a lawyer and orator. United States Senator for ten years. 
In the debate with Webster in the United States Senate, in ISSO, 
advocated the doctrine that the States are sovereign, and have 
the right to nulht'y an act of Congress. Chairman of Committee 
of the South Carolina Convention which reported the nullification 
ordinance, 1832. Soon aftjr was elected Governor of South Caro- 
lina. Issued a counter manifesto to President Jackson's proclama- 
tion. Died ISll. 



74 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

hardly known; consequently the great mass of the 
people grew up in ignorance. Not so in the North. 
There education was fostered, its people were edu- 
cated, labor was encouraged, and the dignity of 
labor recognized. Education and labor went hand 
in hand. In consequence the laborer had a chance 
to rise. He took part in matters of government, 
and his voice was heard in the Councils of the 
State and Nation. 

These differences between the two sections 
grew out of the difference of tlieir civilizations — 
the one being based on freedom; the other on 
slavery. 

In the formation of the Union, the slave power 
got the advantage. Slavery was indirectly recog- 
nized in the Constitution; and in fixing the basis 
of representation each State should have in Con- 
gress, live slaves were counted as three freemen, 
although they were held as property.^ 

With this advantage, and with the idea that 
they were the ruling class, this slavehoJding aris- 
tocracy grew arrogant and tyrannical and sought 
to control the Government and subordinate it en- 
tirely to their own interests. 

It seems to be one of the attributes of wrong 
that it is aggressive and on the alert. It is imj)a- 
tient of restraint and restriction, and is ever seek- 
ing to enlarge its borders. 

The slaveholders were alert, aggressive, and 
impatient of restraint or restriction. They sought 
to perpetuate slavery by extending it into the Ter- 

^See Section 2 of Article I, the Constitution. 



PLANTING GERMS AND SOME RESULTS. 76 

ritories of the United States. They were not satis- 
fied with having it confined to the States where 
it alread}^ existed. Their selfishness, and the moral 
degradation which the institution of slavery had 
fastened on them, led them — to give a sort of color 
to their claimed right of perpetuating and extend- 
ing it — to advocate it as a "divine institution." In 
other words, that the same Creator who made man 
in his own image, declared that it is right for one 
man to enslave another. Even ministers of the 
Gospel proclaimed that doctrine; and bought and 
sold their fellow men. 

Bishop Meade wrote a book of sermons to be 
used for slaves. In one he says, "Almighty God 
hath been pleased to make you slaves here, and 
to give you nothing but labor and poverty in this 
world. * * * This rule you should always 
carry in your mind, that is, that you should do all 
service for 3'our masters as if you did it for God 
himself. * * * Your masters and mistresses 
are God's overseers. * * * You are to do all 
service to them as unto Christ. Failing to do this, 
you will be turned over to the devil to become his 
slave forever in hell." And this in the nineteenth 
century of the Christian era! 

They pretended not to believe the declaration 
that all men are created equal. Working them- 
selves by degrees into that belief, the^' sought to 
extend the "institution" by fastening it on the 
Territories of the United States; thus making it a 
national instead of a local institution. 

In this thej^ succeeded for many years, by their 



76 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

aggressiveness and persistency. During that time 
compromise after compromise was made witii slav- 
ery, and always to the advantage of the slave- 
holders. Thus they acquired a power almost re- 
sistless. At last, however, the conscience of the 
Nation became so aroused that the lovers of free- 
dom determined, if possible, to stem the onflowing 
tide and stop its further spread. 

When, therefore, in 1854, Kansas and Nebras- 
ka were organized into Territories by Congress, 
the conflict came on with renewed vigor; and the 
question of the right of extending slavery was 
agitated with vehemence. Freedom was aroused 
against slavery as never before. The question 
arose, Shall the public domain of the Republic be 
the theater of all free or all slave labor? It was 
evident that one or the other of these must prevail, 
for the antagonism was so great between them 
that one or the other must jield. The slave power 
sounded the trumpet for battle, and the newly 
organized Territory of Kansas was its chosen field 
of conflict. 

The champions of freedom claimed that this 
Nation was not founded with the idea of perpetu- 
ating and extending slavery; that it was a great 
wrong; that freedom was the normal condition 
of man; and that the public domain of this coun- 
try was set apart for freedom. It was not proposed 
to interfere with slavery as it existed, — but it must 
not be extended ; and no more compromises must 
be made, that too many had already been made 
with it. 



THE LIN'COLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 77 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 

While this great struggle, between freedom 
aud slavery, was going on in Kansas, Stephen A. 
Douglas*^ and Abraham Lincoln, opposing candi- 
dates for the United States Senate in Illinois, held, 
in 1858, a series of debates, and discussed the issue 
then uppermost in the minds of the people. 

Mr. Douglas was the champion of the slavery 
side of the question, and Mr. Lincoln the champion 
of the side of freedom. Both were able repre- 
sentative men, although Mr. Lincoln was but little 
known to the countr}-. These debates developed 
the claims of both parties, and attracted the atten- 
tion of the Nation. I can do no better than to here 
give the leading points of their claims. 

Mr. Douglas said: "I hold that the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence had no reference 
to negroes at all when they declared all men to 
be created equal. * * * They alluded to men 
of European birth and European descent, — to 
white men, and to none others, when they declared 

"Stephen A. Douglas was born in Vermont, 1813; removed to 
Illinois in 1831. Taught school, studied law, was Attorney General 
of the Stale, Secretary of State. Judge of the Supreme Court, 
Congressman, United States Senator, and finally ran for President 
against Abiaham Lincoln, as one of the Democratic candidates; 
John C. Breckenridge, of KentucKy, being the other. Died June 3, 
1861. After Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated as President, he heartily 
supported the Union cause, and when dying he breathed a prayer 
that the enemies of his country might be overthrown. With this 
record, contrast that of John C. Breckenridge. Born in Kentucky, 
1821. Studied law; served in the Mexican war; elected to Con- 
gress, 1S51; re-elected, 1853. Elected Vice-President of the United 
States on ticket with James Buchanan, 1856. Elected U. S. Senator, 
1860. Defended the Southern Confederacy in the Senate. Expelled 
from the Senate, December, 1861. Appointed Major-General in the 
Confederate army and served in the field until February, 1866, 
when Jefferson Davis appointed him Secretary of War. Died, 1875. 



78 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

that doctrine. I hold that this Government was 
established on the white basis. It was established 
by white men for the benefit of white men and 
their posterity forever, and should be administered 
b}' white men, and none others. But it does not 
follow, by any means, that merely because he is 
not our equal, that, therefore, he should be a 
slave. * * * 

"If the people of Kansas want a slave State, 
they have a right, under the Constitution of the 
United States, to form such a State, and I will 
let them come into the Union with slavery or with- 
out, as they determine. If the people of any other 
Territory desire slavery, let them have it. If they 
do not want it, let them prohibit it. It is their 
business, not mine. It is none of our business in 
Illinois whether Kansas is a free State or a slave 
State. * * * I assert that this Goverumeut 
can exist as they (the fathers) made it, divided into 
free and slave States, if any one State chooses to 
retain slavery. 

"lie (Lincoln) says that he looks forward to a 
time when slavery shall be abolished everywhere. 
" * * I look forward to a time when each 
State shall be allowed to do as it pleases. If it 
chooses to keep slavery forever, it is none of my 
business, but its own; if it chooses to abolish 
slavery, it is its own business — not mine. I care 
more for the great principle of self government, 
the right of the people to rule, than I do for all 
the negroes in Christendom. I would not endan- 
ger the perpetuity of the Union, I would not blot 



THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 79 

out the great inalienable rights of the white men 
for all the negroes that ever existed. Hence, I 
sa}', let us maintain this Government on the prin- 
ciples that our fathers made it, recognizing the 
right of each State to keep slavery as long as its 
people determine, or to abolish it when they 
please. * * * 

"His (Lincoln's) idea is that he will prohibit 
slavery in all the Territories and thus force them 
all to become free States, surrounding the slave 
States with a cordon of free States and hemming 
them in, keeping the slaves confined to their pres- 
ent limits whilst they go on multiplying until the 
soil on which they live will no longer feed them, 
and he will thus be able to put slavery in a course 
of ultimate extinction b}^ starvation. * * * 
He intends to do that in the name of humanity 
and Christianity, in order that we tnay get rid of 
the terrible crime and sin entailed upon our fath- 
ers of holding slaves. * * * i ask. you to look 
into these things, and then tell me whether the 
Democrac}^ or the Abolitionists are right. I hold 
that the people of a Territory, like those of a 
State (I use the language of Mr. Buchanan in his 
letter of acceptance) have the right to decide for 
themselves whether slavery shall or shall not ex- 
ist within their limits. * * * My friends, if, 
as I have said before, we will only live up to this 
great fundamental principle, there will be peace 
between the North and South." 

Mr. Lincoln said: "You have heard him (Doug- 



80 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

las) frequently allude to mj controversy with him 
in regard to the Declaration of Independence. * * 

"It may be, argued that there are certain con- 
ditions that make necessities and impose them 
upon us, and to the extent that a necessity is im- 
posed upon a man he must submit to it. I think 
that was the condition in which we found ourselves 
when we established this Government. We had 
slaves among us, we could not get our Constitu- 
tion unless we permitted them to remain in slav- 
er3% we could not secure the good we did secure 
if we grasped for more; and having by necessity 
submitted to that much it does not destroy the 
principle that that is the charter of our liberties. 
Let the charter remain as our standard. * * * 

"I think the authors of that notable instru- 
ment intended to include all men, but they did not 
mean to declare all men equal in all respects. 
They did not mean to sa^^ all men were equal in 
color, size, intellect, moral development or social 
capacity. They defined with tolerable distinctness 
in what they did consider all men created equal — 
equal in certain inalienable rights, among which 
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This 
they said, and this they meant. They did not 
mean to assert the obvious untruth, that all 
were then actually enjoying that equality, or jet, 
that they were about to confer it immediately upon 
them. In fact, they had no power to confer such 
a boon. They meant simply to declare the right 
so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast 
as circumstances should permit. They meant to 



THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 81 

set up a standard maxim for free society which 
should be familiar to all; constantly looked to, 
constantly labored for, and even, though never 
perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and 
thereby constantly spreading and deepening its 
influence and augmenting the happiness and value 
of life to all people, of all colors, everywhere. * * 
"I assert that Judge Douglas and all his friends 
may search the whole records of the country, and 
it will be a matter of great astonishment to me 
if they shall be able to find that one human being 
three years ago had ever uttered the astounding 
sentiment that the term "all men" in the Declara- 
tion did not include the negro. Do not let me be 
misunderstood. I know that more than three 
years ago there were men who, finding this asser- 
tion constantl^^ in the way of their schemes to 
bring about the ascendenc}^ and perpetuation of 
slavery, denied the truth of it. I know that Mr. 
Calhoun and all the politicians of his school denied 
the truth of the Declaration. I know that it ran 
along in the mouth of some Southern men for a 
period of years, ending at last in that shameful 
though rather forcible declaration of Pettit of 
Indiana, upon the floor of the United States Sen- 
ate, that the Declaration of Independence was in 
that respect 'a self evident lie,' rather than a self 
evident truth. But I say, with a perfect knowledge 
of all this hawking at the Declaration without 
directly attacking it, that three jears ago there 
never had lived a man who had ventured to assail 
it in the sneaking way of pretending to believe it 



82 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

and then asserting it did not include the negro. I 
believe the first man who ever said it was Chief 
Justice Tanej in the Dred Scott case, and the next 
to him was our friend Stephen A. Douglas. And 
now it has become the catchword of the entire 
party. I would like to call upon his friends every- 
where to consider how they have come in so short 
a time to view this matter in a wa^^ so entirely 
different from their former belief? to ask whether 
they are not being borne along by an irresistible 
current — whither, they know not? * * * 

"Hear what Mr. Cla}^^ said: 'It is a general 
declaration in the act announcing to the World 
the independence of the thirteen American Colo- 
nies, that all men are created equal. Now as an 
abstract principle, there is no doubt of the truth 
of that declaration; and it is desirable, in the 
original construction of society; and in organized 
societies, to keep it in view as a great fundamental 
principle. * * * i desire no concealment of 
my opinions in regard to the institution of slavery. 
I look upon it as a great evil, and deeply lament 
that we have derived it from the parental Govern- 
ment, and from our ancestors. But here they are, 
and the question is, how can they be best dealt 
with? If a state of nature existed, and we were 
about to lay the foundations of society, no man 
would be more strongly opposed than I should be, 

"Henry Clay, lawyer, orator and statesman, was born in Vir- 
ginia in 1777; died at Washington, D. C, 1852. In 1797 he removed 
to Lexington, Kentucky. In 1799, when the people of Kentucky 
were about adopting a State constitution. Clay urged them (but 
without success) to abolish slavery. He entered Congress in 1806, 
and continued in public life from that time until his death. 



THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 83 

to incorporating the institution of slavery among 
its elements.' 

"What have I done, that I have not the license 
of Henry Clay's illustrious example here in doing? 
Have I done aught that I have not his authority 
for, while maintaining that in organizing new Ter- 
ritories and societies, this fundamental principle 
should be regarded, and in organized society hold- 
ing it up to the public view and recognizing what 
he recognized as the great principle of free govern- 
ment? And when this new principle — this new 
proposition that no human being ever thought of 
three 3^ears ago — is brought forw^ard, I combat it 
as having an evil tendency, if not an evil design. 
I combat it as having a tendency to dehumanize 
the negro — to take away from him the right of 
ever striving to be a man. I combat it as being 
one of the thousand things constantly done in 
these days to prepare the public mind to make 
property, and nothing but property, of the negro 
in all the States of this Union. * * * 

"The principle upon which I have insisted in 
this canvass, is in relation to laying the founda- 
tions of new societies. It is nothing but a misera- 
ble perversion of what I have said, to assume that 
I have declared Missouri, or any other slave State, 
shall emancipate her slaves. I have proposed no 
such thing. But when Mr. Clay says that in laying 
the foundations of societies in our Territories 
where it does not exist, he would be opposed to 
the introduction of slavery as an element, I insist 
that we have his warrant — his license for insisting 



84 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

upon the exclusion of that element which he de- 
clared in such strong and emphatic language was 
most hateful to him. * * * 

"We are now far into the fifth year since a 
policy was initiated with the avowed object and 
confident promise of putting an end to the slavery 
agitation. Under the operation of this policy, that 
agitation has not only not ceased, but has con- 
stantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not 
cease until a crisis shall have been reached and 
passed. 'A house divided against itself cannot 
stand.' I believe this Government cannot endure 
permanently half slave and half free. I do not 
expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will 
cease to be divided. It will become all one thing 
or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery 
will arrest the further spread of it, and place it 
where the public mind shall rest in the belief that 
it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its 
advocates will push it forward till it shall become 
alike lawful in all the States — old as well as new, 
North as well as South. * * * 

"I entertain the opinion upon evidence suffi- 
cient to my mind, that the fathers of this Govern- 
ment placed that institution where the public mind 
did rest in the belief that it was in the course of 
ultimate extinction. Let me ask wli}^ the}^ made 
provision that the source of slaver}^ — the African 
slave trade — should be cut off at the end of twenty 
years ?^ VChy did they make provision that in all 
the new territory we owned at that time, slavery 

*See Constitution, Section 9 of Article I, 



THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 85 

should be forever inhibited ?^ Why stop its spread 
in one direction and cut off its source in another, 
if they did not look to its being placed in the course 
of ultimate extinction? * * * 

"Language is used (in the Constitution) not 
suggesting that slavery existed or that the black 
race were among us. And I understand the con- 
temporaneous history of those times to be that 
covert language was used with a purpose, and that 
purpose was that our Constitution, w^hich it was 
hoped and is still hoped will endure forever — w^hen 
it should be read by intelligent and patriotic men, 
after the institution of slavery had passed from 
among us — there should be nothing on the face of 
the great charter of liberty suggesting that such 
a thing as negro slavery had ever existed among 
us. This is part of the evidence that the fathers of 
the Government expected and intended the insti- 
tution of slavery to come to an end. They ex- 
pected and intended that it should be in the course 
of ultimate extinction. * * * 

"We might, by arresting the further spread of 
it, and lilacing it where the fathers originally 
placed it, rest in the belief that it was in the 
course of ultimate extinction. Thus the agitation 
may cease. * * * 

"It is not true that our fathers, as Judge Doug- 
las assumes, made this Government part slave and 
part free. Understand the sense in which he puts 
it. He assumes that slavery is a rightful thing 

»North-Western Territory. See Ordinance of 1787, for prohibi- 
tion of slavery in that Territory. 



86 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

within itself — was introduced by the framers of 
the Constitution. The exact truth is, that they 
found the institution existing among us, and they 
left it as they found it. But in making the Govern- 
ment they left this institution with many clear 
marks of disapprobation upon it. They found 
slavery among them, and they left it among them 
because of the difficulty — the absolute impossibil- 
ity of its immediate removal. And when Judge 
Douglas asks me cannot we let it remain jjart 
slave and part free, as the fathers made it, he 
asks a question based upon an assumption which 
is of itself a falsehood; and I turn upon him and 
ask him the question, when the policy that the 
fathers of the Government had adopted in relation 
to this element among us was the best policy in 
the world — the only wise policy — the only policy 
that we can ever safely continue upon— that will 
ever give us peace, unless this dangerous element 
masters us all and becomes a national institution 
— I turn upon him and ask him why he could not 
leave it alone. I turn and ask him why he was 
driven to the necessity of introducing a new policy 
in regard to it. He has himself said he introduced 
a new policy.^^ * * * j have proposed noth- 
ing more than a return to the policy of the 
fathers. * * * 

"The Judge alludes very often in the course of 
his remarks to the exclusive right which the States 
have to decide the whole thing for themselves. I 
agree with him very readily that the different 

loKansas-Nebraska Bill, in 1854. 



THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 87 

States have that right. He is but fighting a mau 
of straw when he assumes that I am contending 
against the right of the States to do as they please 
about it. Our controversy with him is in regard to 
the new Territories. We have no power as citi- 
zens of the free States or in our federal capacity 
as members of the Federal Union through the 
General Government, to disturb slavery in the 
States where it exists. * * * 

"The real issue in this controversy — the one 
pressing upon every mind — is the sentiment on the 
part of one class that looks upon the institution 
of slavery as a wrong and of another class that 
does not look upon it as a wrong. * * * 

"On this subject of treating it as a wrong and 
limiting its spread, let me say a word. Has any- 
thing ever threatened the existence of this Union 
save and except this very institution of slavery? 
What is it that we hold most dear among us? 
Our own liberty and prosperity. What has ever 
threatened our libert}^ and prosperity, save and 
except this institution of slavery? If this is true, 
how do you propose to improve the condition of 
things by enlarging slavery — by spreading it out 
and making it bigger? * * * That is no prop- 
er way of treating what you regard a w^rong. You 
see this peaceful way of dealing with it as a wrong 
— restricting the spread of it, and not allowing it 
to go into new countries where it has not already 
existed. That is the peaceful wa^^, the old fash- 
ioned way, the way in which the fathers them- 
selves set us the example. * * * 



88 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

"Judge Douglas contends that whatever com- 
inunit}' wants slaves has a right to have them. 
So they have if it is not a wrong. But if it is a 
wrong, he cannot say people have a right to do 
wrong. He says that upon the score of equality, 
slaves should be allowed to go in a new Territory, 
like other property. This is strictly logical if there 
is no difference between it and other property. If 
it and other propert}^ are equal, his argument is 
entirely logical. But if you insist that one is 
wrong and the other right, there is no use to insti- 
tute a comparison between right and wrong. * * 
"That is the real issue. That is the issue that 
will continue in this country when these poor 
tongues of Judge Douglas and m^'self shall be 
silent. It is the eternal struggle between these 
two principles — right and wrong — throughout the 
world. They are the two principles that have 
stood face to face from the beginning of time; and 
will ever continue to struggle. The one is the 
common right of humanity and the other the divine 
right of kings. It is the same i^rinciple in what- 
ever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit 
that says, 'You work and toil and earn bread, and 
I'll eat it.' No matter in what shape it conies, 
whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to 
bestride the people of his own nation and live by 
the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men 
as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the 
same tyrannical principle." 



THE NEW CHAMPION OF FREEDOM. 89 



CHAPTER III. 

THE NEW CHAMPION OF FREEDOM. 

Those words, of Abraham Lincoln, will go ring- 
ing down the ages as long as liberty and free gov- 
ernment have an existence. His argument was 
made In the light of a broad humanity; in the 
light of the true sense of tlie Declaration of Inde- 
pendence; in the light of the Constitution and 
the history of the formation of our Government. 
His logic was unanswerable. He spoke with the 
vision of a prophet, — as one having authority. 

We may well inquire, Who was this new and 
powerful champion of freedom? Was he of the 
blood royal? Was he born in .a palace? Neither. 
Born in a cabin of poor and humble parents,^^ 
raised amid the surroundings of hardship and pov- 
erty incident to a new country; self educated. 
Product of the unexhausted West. "Nothing of 
Europe here. New birth of our new soil." A 
stalwart man imbued with the spirit of liberty to 
all mankind; and, — 

"Limbed like the old heroic breeds, 
Who stands self-poised on manhood's solid earth, 
Not forced to frame excuses for his birth, 
Fed from within with all the strength he needs."^= 

This new man Providence raised up for a great 

"Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1809. In 1816 the Lincoln family moved to Spencer County, 
Indiana; and, in 1S30, to Illinois. In 1834 Abraham Lincoln began 
the study of law, and in 1S37, began its practice in Springfield, 111., 
where he remained until he became President of the United States 
iri ISfil. He was re-elected President in 1864. Assassinated by John 
Wilkes Booth, April 14, 1865, . at Washington, D. C, and died the 
following day. 

•-From Lowell's "Commemoration Ode," 



90 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

purpose. That purpose was to lead the Nation 
through an irrepressible conflict, — a conflict be- 
tween two antagonistic civilizations, — that the de- 
mands of the Higher Law, upon which the Declara- 
tion was based, might be fulfilled. Under him 
freedom, everywhere, was to receive a new impe- 
tus — a new baptism, and finally to be triumphant. 
He Avas taking up the great work begun and car- 
ried forward by a Garrison, a Phillips and others, 
who, for many years, had been battling for the 
rights of man in educating the conscience of the 
Nation. These re-enforced by Charles Sumner,^"' 
William H. Seward and others in Congress. He 
was destined, under Providence, to finish the work 
they had so well begun and carried forward. This 
is the man who was to lead the Reijublic through 
the fiery furnace of war, and at last to receive the 
veneration of a grateful people, and the homage 
of kings and emperors. 

The aristocracy of the South had no love for 
such a man. He was not of their kind. His blows 
against slavery were felt; and no man had made 

^^Charles Sumner was born in Boston, Mass., January 6 1811. 
Graduated at Harvard College and Cambridge Law School' Ad- 
mitted to the bar, 1831. Delivered his first great oration, on the 
"True Grandeur of Nations," at Boston July 4, 1S45; and his first 
anti-slavery speech, 1S50. On the death of Judge Story of the 
Supreme Court of the United States, in 1845, was offered the vacant 
seat, but declined. In the winter of 1851 was elected to the Senate 
of the United States from Massachusetts, to fill the vacancy caused 
by the resignation of Daniel Webster; retained that position until 
his death, March 11, 1874. 

Of Sumner, Senator George F. Hoar, himself a statesman of large 
ability, wrote in 1894: "If we judge him by the soundness of his 
principles, by the wisdom of his measures, bv his power to com- 
mand the support of the people, by the great public results he ac- 
complished, there is no statesman of his time to be named in the 
same breath with him. save Abraham Lincoln. * * * His figure 
will abide in History like that of St. Michael in Art, an emblem 
of celestial purity, of celestial zeal, of celestial courage. It will go 
down to immortality with its foot upon the dragon of Slavery and 
with the sword of the spirit in its hand, but with a tender light in 
Us eye, and a human love in its smile." 



THE NEW CHAMPION OF FREEDOM. 91 

SO profound an impression on the conscience of 
the Nation, as to the wrong of slavery and its 
relation to the Government, as he. He stripped 
the slaveholders' pretenses naked; and alarmed 
them when he said, " 'A house divided against 
itself cannot stand.' I believe this Government 
cannot endure permanently^ half slave and half 
free. I do not expect the house to fall — but I do 
expect it will cease to be divided. It will become 
all one thing or all the other. Either the oppo- 
nents of slavery will arrest the further spread of 
it, and place it where the public mind shall rest 
in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate 
extinction, or its advocates will push it forward 
till it shall become alike lawful in all the States — 
old as well as new. North as well as South." 

It was evident that the course of events was 
tending towards one or the other of these alter- 
natives, and had been for several years. It was 
almost certain to "become all one thing or all the 
other." The slave j^ower had been encouraged to 
believe that slavery would become a national in- 
stitution by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, the 
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and later, 1857, by 
the decision of the Supreme Court of the United 
States in the Dred Scott case, wherein Chief Jus- 
tice Taney^^ announced that the Missouri Compro- 

'*Roger Brooke Taney was born in Maryland, March 17, 1777. 
Admitted to tlie bar as a lawyer in 1799. He served in the Senate 
and Assembly of Maryland. Appointed Attorney General of the 
United States in 1S31, and Secretary of the Treasury in 1S33. He 
was appointed Chief Justice of the United States on the death of 
Judge Marshall, and took his seat as such in January, 1S37, and 
remained in that office until his death, in the city of Washington, 
on October 12, 1864, when his place was filled by Salmon P. Chase, 
of Ohio, who was appointed by President Lincoln. 



92 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

mise of 1820, was unconstitutional and, therefore, 
null and void from its beginning; and that slave- 
holders had the right to take their slaves with 
them into any State or Territory of the Union, the 
same as horses and cattle, without impairing their 
rights thereto. And now, with this encourage- 
ment, the slave power bent all its energies to make 
slavery a national institution. On the other hand 
the power of Freedom had been so thoroughly 
aroused by the course of events and the aggres- 
siveness of the slave power, that it exerted all its 
power to preserve the rights of freedom under the 
Declaration and the Constitution. 

In speaking of this struggle, William H. Sew- 
ard^ ^ of New York said, in the United States Sen- 
ate, 1854: "Come on, then, gentlemen of the slave 
States; since there is no escaping your challenge, 

^^^William H. Seward was born in Florida, N. Y., May 16, 1801. 
Became eminent as a lawyer, statesman, and diplomat. Was 
elected Governor of New York, 1S3S; re-elected, 1840. Elected U. S. 
Senator, 1849; re-elected, 1&55. Apponiied Secretary of State by 
President Lincoln, immediately after his first inauguration. He 
filled that important office with great ability until after the close 
of the Civil War. Died October 10, 1872. 

Mr. Seward boldly denounced the slave power, and was an 
ardent defender of Freedom. He originated the two famous 
phrases, "the higher law" and "the irrepressible conflict." They 
were denounced by the advocates of slavery, but were caught up as 
the symbols of the political faith of the advocates of freedom. 

He used the phrase "the higher law" in a speech delivered in 
the Senate, March 11, 1850, upon the admission of California into 
the Union. He said in part: "The Constitution devotes the do- 
main to union, to justice, to defense, to welfare, and to liberty. 
But there is a 'higher law' than the Constitution, which regulates 
our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble 
purposes." 

The phrase "irrepresible conflict" is found in a speech deliv- 
ered at Rochester, N. Y., October 25, 1S58, in the following con- 
nection: "It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and en- 
during forces. It means that the United States must and will, 
sooner or later, become entirely a slaveholding nation or entirely 
a free labor nation. Either the cotton and rice fields of South 
Carolina and the sugar plantations of Louisiana will be ultimately 
tilled by free labor, and Charleston and New Orleans become 
marts for legitimate merchandise alone, or else the rye-fields and 
wheat-fields of Massachusetts and New York must again be sur- 
rendered by their farmers to slave culture and to the production 
of slaves, and Boston and New York become once more markets 
for trade in the bodies and souls of men." 



THE NEW CHAMPION OF FREEDOM. . 93 

I accept it on behalf of Freedom. We will engage 
in competition for the virgin soil of Kansas, and 
God give the victory to the side that is stronger 
in numbers as it is in right." 

The slaveholders soon began to realize that 
when the power of Freedom exerted all its 
strength, that the power of Slavery in the Nation, 
to extend itself, was gone. They began to see the 
handwriting on the wall, — ^"Thoii hast been 
weighed in the balance and found wanting." 
They began to see power departing from them, 
and declared, in effect, "If we cannot get what 
we want in the Union we will leave it and build 
a nation of our own; for power we must have." 
This, however, they had threatened for nian^^ 
years. But soon they determined to carry out 
their threats. 

They were willing to sacrifice the Republic 
rather than lose their power. Khett, of South Car- 
olina, avowed that "the South must control the 
government or must fall." If our rights, as he 
assumed them to be, "are overthrown, let this be 
the last contest between the North and the South, 
and the long, weary night of our dishonor and 
humiliation be dispersed at last by the glorious 
dayspring of a Southern Confederacy." 

The slave power now boldl}' advocated the re- 
opening of the slave trade, although that trade 
is declared by law to be piracy. They denounced 
the opposition to that trade as "the sickly senti- 
ment of pretended philanthropy and diseased 
mental aberration of 'higher law fanatics'." 



94 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORV. 

Jefferson Davis, in an address, in the autumn 
of 1859, denounced the hiw of 1820, which dechires 
the slave trade to be pirac}- ; and said that nothing 
could "justifj^ the government in branding as in- 
famous the source from which the chief part of 
the laboring population of the South is derived." 
He also declared that "servitude" was essential 
for the good of the black race; that slavery ought 
to be protected by law in the territories; that Cuba 
should be secured as being important for the inter- 
ests of a Southern Confederacy; and that the 
Union should be dissolved, if the republicans elect- 
ed their candidate on the platform of putting a 
stop to the further extension of slavery.^*' 

What a vast power Freedom had to contend 
against! — ^ A great slave oligarch}, based on four 
million slaves, valued at about two billion dollars, 
knit together in interest for the promotion of its 
power; and the tentacles of that power reaching 
far out into states and nations. That oligarchy 
had Freedom by the throat, trying to throttle it. 
The great question then was, AVould Freedom be 
able to shake it off and crush it? 

i^Duyckinck's "History of the World," Vol. 4, p. 232. 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 95 



CHAPTER IV. 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 

The great struggle between Freedom and Slav- 
ery, in Kansas, continued until finally Freedom 
was victorious, after a conflict — amounting to 
civil war, at times, — of five years or more. The 
slaveholding aristocracy was now more desperate 
than ever. The slaveholders had now come to the 
point where they saw that slavery would not be 
extended; that their power, once so great, was 
departing. 

When, therefore, in 1860, the elements com- 
posing the Democracy split on the slavery ques- 
tion and Abraham Lincoln was elected President, 
and thereby the South lost power, the slavehold- 
ing aristocracy made the election of Mr. Lincoln 
the pretext for conspiring against and attempting 
to destroy the Union. Before the election South- 
ern men threatened that in the event of the elec- 
tion of Mr. Lincoln the South would disrupt the 
Union. The Governor of Soutli Carolina just the 
day before his election formally recommended se- 
cession to the Legislature of that State "in event 
of Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency." 
Soon after his election the United States Senators 
and Federal office holders for that State resigned 
their places. There was a general feeling among 
most of the leaders in the South that in case Mr. 
Lincoln was elected, secession w^ould and ought to 
take place; and so immediately thereafter prep- 



Oo A PHILOSOPHICAL HIStORV. 

arations were made in that direction, and a con- 
spiracy formed to destroy tlie Union. 

Secession was tallved openly, even in tlie halls 
of Congress. Senator Iverson, of Georgia, rose 
in his seat in the Senate of the United States,^ ^ 
and, with cool defiance, said: "We intend, Mr. 
President, to go out peaceably if we can, forcibly 
if we must; but I do not believe, with the Senator 
from New Hampshire (Mr. Hale), that there is 
going to be any war. If five or eight States go out, 
they will necessarily draAv all the other Southern 
States after them. That is a consequence that 
nothing can prevent. If five or eight States go 
out of this Union, I should like to see the man 
who would propose a declaration of war against 
them, or attempt to force them into obedience to 
the Federal Government at the point of the bayo- 
net or the sword. If one State alone was to go 
out, unsustained by her sister States, possibly war 
might ensue, and there might be an attempt made 
to coerce her, and that would give rise to civil 
war; but, sir, South Carolina is not to go out 
alone. In my opinion, she will be sustained by 
all her Southern sisters. They may not all go out 
immediately, but they will, in the end, join South 
Carolina in this important movement; and we 
shall, in the next twelve months, have a confed- 
eracy of the Southern States, and a government 
inaugurated and in successful operation, which, 
in my opinion, will be a government of the great- 
est prosperity and power the world has ever seen." 

"December 5, 1860. 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 97 

History records that early in January, 1861, 
wliile only South Carolina had actually seceded 
from the Union, though other Southern States had 
called conventions to consider the question, the 
United States Senators of the seven slave. States 
farthest south practically assumed control of the 
whole movement, and their energy and unswerv- 
ing singleness of purpose, aided by the telegraph, 
secured a rapidity of execution to which no other 
very extensive conspiracy of history can afford a 
parallel. The cardinal object of these Senators 
Avas to hurry the formation of a new national gov- 
ernment, as an organized political reality which 
would rally the outright secessionists, claim the 
allegiance of the doubtful, and coerce those who 
still remained recalcitrant. At the head of this 
senatorial conspiracy, and of its executive com- 
mittee, was Jefferson Davis,^^ Senator from Mis- 
sissippi, and naturally the first official step toward 
the fortnation of a new government came from the 
Mississippi Legislature, where a committee report- 
ed, January 19th, 1861, resolutions in favor of a 
congress of delegates from the seceding States 
to provide for a Southern Confederacy. The other 
seceding States at once accepted the proposal, 
through their State conventions, which also ap- 

^sjefferson Davis was born in Kentucky, ISOS; but brought up 
in Mississippi, of wliich State his father, a planter and a Revo- 
lutionary officer, became a resident while it was a Territory. 
Graduate United States Military Academy, 1S28. Was colonel of a 
regiment in the Mexican War. Appointed United States Senator 
by the Governor of Mississippi, in 1S47: twice re-elected to the same 
position. Appointed Secretary of War by President Pierce in 1853. 
Went back into the United States Senate at the close of Pierce's 
administration, where he remained until he left it to become 
President of the Southern Confederacy in February, 1861. Died, 

loSd. 



98 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

pointed the delegates on the ground that the peo- 
ple had entrusted the State conventions with un- 
limited powers. These delegates^ ^ met at Mont- 
gomery, Alabama, and, on the 8th day of February, 
1861, organized the Southern Confederacy. 

Thtis organized, they, and others, bent all their 
energies, from this time on, to induce the remain- 
ing eight slave States to secede from the Union 
and join the Confederacy. In this, however, they 
were onlj- partially successful.-" 

There was one notable exception to the idea 
that the South ought to withdraw from the Union 
in case Mr. Lincoln was elected. 

Alexander H. Stephens,-^ one of the ablest men 
of Georgia, was opposed to it. In a speech deliv- 
ered November 14, 1860, in the Hall of the House 
of Representatives of Georgia, at the request of 
members of the Legislature, he said in part: "The 

"From the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Ala- 
bama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. 

=»Four more slave States joined the Confederacy soon after the 
firing on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1S61, namely: Arkansas, North Car- 
olina, Tennessee and Virginia— except West Virginia. The remain- 
ing four slave States— Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Mis- 
souri — did not secede. 

21 Alexander H. Stephens was born in Taliaferro County, Georgia, 
February 11, 1S12. Educated at Franklin College, by the aid of 
kind friends attracted to him by the quickness of his parts; gradu- 
ated, 1832. Admitted to the bar and practiced his profession with 
great success. From 1837 to 1842 he was a member of the Georgia 
Legislature, and in 1848 he was elected to the lower House of 
Congress as a candidate of the old Whig party; but when that party 
went down he took refuge in the Union wing of Southern Democ- 
racy. He soon attained distinction in Congress as a sound thinker, 
and a skillful and eloquent debater. It was as lawyer, legislator, 
and orator that he won his reputation. The cast of his mind was 
deliberative and argumentative. He had but little executive 
ability, or power to lead men into action. He was the antithesis 
of Jeffei-son Davis. Stephens was elected Vice-President of the 
Southern Confederacy because the uncompromising secessionists 
thought, by placing him in that position, he would attract to the 
new government the men of moderate views, who were still at- 
tached to the Union. After the close of the Civil War he re-en- 
tered Congress, 1872. Author of two works on the Civil War. Died 
March 4. 1883. 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 99 

first question that presents itself is, Shall the peo- 
ple of the South secede from the Union in conse- 
quence of the election of Mr. Lincoln to the presi- 
dency of the United States? In my judgment, the 
election of no man, constitutionally chosen to that 
high office, is sufficient cause for any State to sep- 
arate from the Union. It ought to stand by and 
aid still in maintaining the Constitution of the 
country. To make a point of resistance to the 
(Jovernment, to withdraw from it because a man 
has been constitutionally elected, puts us in the 
wrong. We are pledged to maintain the Constitu- 
tion. Many of us have sworn to support it. Can 
we, therefore, for the mere election of a man to 
the presidency, and that, too, in accordance with 
the prescribed forms of the Constitution, make a 
point of resifetance to the Government, withdraw 
ourselves from it, without becoming the breakers 
of that sacred instrument ourselves? Would we 
not be in the wrong? Whatever fate is to befall 
this country, let it never be laid to the charge of 
the people of the South, and especially to the 
people of Georgia, that we are untrue to our na- 
tional engagements. Let the fault and the Avrong 
rest upon others. If all our hopes are to be blast- 
ed, if the Republic is to go down, let us be found 
to the last moment standing on the deck, with the 
Constitution of the United States waving over 
our heads. Let the fanatics of the North break 
the Constitution, if such is their fell purpose. Let 
the responsibility be upon them. But let not the 
South, let us not be the ones to commit the aggres- 



100 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

sion. We went into the election with this people. 
The result was different from what we wished; 
but the election has been constitutionally held. 
Were we to make a point of resistance to the Gov- 
ernment and go out of the Union on that account, 
the record would be made up hereafter against us. 
* * * That this government of our fathers, 
with all its defects, comes nearer the objects of all 
good governments than any other on the face of 
the earth, is my settled conviction. * * * 
Where will you go, following the sun in his circuit 
round the globe, to find a government that better 
protects the liberties of the peojjle and secures to 
them the blessings that we enjoy? I think that 
one of the evils that besets us is a surfeit of liberty, 
an exuberance of the priceless blessings for which 
we are ungrateful. * * * Have we not at the 
South as well as the North grown great and happy 
under its operation? Has any part of the world 
ever shown such rapid progress in the develop- 
ment of wealth, and all the material resources of 
power and greatness, as the Southern States have 
under the general government?" 

How prophetic the words, "the record would 
be made up hereafter against us." Indeed, the 
record has been made up against them. 

The same opinions were reiterated by Mr. Ste- 
phens at the Georgia Secession Convention held 
in January, 1861, less than a month before he 
accepted the vice-presidency of the Confederacy 
whose formation he had persistently opposed. In 
this speech he said: "This step (of secession) once 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 101 

taken can never be recalled; and all the baleful 
and withering consequences that must follow, will 
rest on the Convention for all coming time. When 
we and our posterity shall see our lovely South 
desolated by the demon of war, which this act of 
3^ours will inevitably invite and call forth; when 
our green fields of waving harvest shall be trod- 
den down by the murderous soldiery and fiery 
car of war sweeping over our land; our temples 
of justice laid in ashes; all the horrors and 
desolations of war upon us; who but this Con- 
vention will be held responsible for it? And who 
but him who shall have given his vote for this 
unwise and illtimed measure, as I honestly think 
and believe, shall be held to strict account for 
this suicidal act by the present generation, and 
probably cursed and execrated by posterity for 
all coming time, for the wide and desolating ruin 
that will inevitably follow this act you now pro- 
pose to perpetrate? Pause, T entreat you, and 
consider for a moment what reasons you can give 
that will ever satisfy yourselves in calmer mo- 
ments — what reasons you can give to your fellow 
sufferers in the calamity that it will bring upon 
us. What reasons can you give to the nations 
of the earth to justify it? They will be the calm 
and deliberate judges in the case; and what cause 
or one overt act can you name or point on which 
to rest the plea of justification? What right has 
the North assailed? What interest of the South 
has been invaded? What justice has been denied? 
and what claim founded in justice and right has 



102 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

been withheld? Can either of you to-day name 
one governmental act of wrong, deliberately and 
purposel}' done b^^ the government of Washington, 
of which the Hoiith has a right to complain? I 
challenge the answer. While on the other hand 
let me show the facts (and believe me, gentlemen, 
I am not here the advocate of the North; but I 
am here the friend, the firm friend, and lover of 
the South and her institutions, and for this reason 
I speak thus plainly and faithfully for yours, 
mine, and ever^^ other man's interest, the words 
of truth and soberness), of which I wish you to 
judge, and I will only state facts which are clear 
and undeniable, and which now stand as records 
authentic in the history of our country. When we 
of the South demanded the slave-trade, or the im- 
portation of Africans for the cultivation of our 
lauds, did they not yield the right for twenty 
3 ears?-- When we asked a three-fifth representa- 
tion in Congress for our slaves, was it not grant- 
ed ?^^ When we asked and demanded the return 
of any fugitive from justice, or the recover}^ of 
those persons owing labor or allegiance, was it 
not incorporated in the Constitution,-^ and again 
ratified and strengthened by the Fugitive Slave 
Law of 1850? But do you reply that iu many 
instances they have violated this compact, and 
have not been faithful to their engagements? As 
individuals and local communities, they may have 
done so; but not by the sanction of the Govern- 

--See Section 9, Article I, of the Constitution. 
-"See Section 2, Article I, of the Constitution. 
"*See Section 2, Article IV, of the Constitution. 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 103 

merit; for that has always been true to Southern 
interests. Again, gentlemen, look at another act; 
when we have asked that more territory should be 
added, that we might spread the institution of 
slavery, have they not yielded to our demands in 
giving us Louisiana, Florida, and Texas, out of 
which four States have been carved, and ample 
territory' for four more to be added in time, if you 
b}^ this unwise and impolitic act do not destroy 
this hope, and perhaps, by it lose all, and have 
your last slave wrenched from you by stern mili- 
tary rule, as South America and Mexico were; or 
by the vindictive decree of a universal emancipa- 
tion which may reasonably be expected to follow? 
"But again, gentlemen, what have we to gain 
b}^ this proposed change of our relation to the 
G-eneral Government? We have always had con- 
trol of it, and can yet, if we remain in it, and are 
as united as we have been. We have had a ma- 
jority of the Presidents chosen from the South; 
as well as the control and management of most 
of those chosen from the North. We have had 
sixty years of Southern Presidents to their twenty- 
four, thus controlling the Executive department. 
So of the Judges of the Supreme Court, we have 
had eighteen from the South and but eleven from 
the North; although nearly four-fifths of the judi- 
cial business has arisen in the Free States, yet a 
majority of the Court has always been from the 
South. This we have required so as to guard 
against any interpretation of the Constitution un- 
favorable to us. In like manner we have been 



104 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

equally watchful to guard our interests in the 
Legislative branch of Government. In choosing 
the presiding Presidents (pro tern.) of the Senate, 
we have had twenty-four to their eleven. Speakers 
of the House we have had twenty-three, and they 
twelve. While the majority of the Representa- 
tives, from their greater population, have always 
been from the North, yet we have so generally 
secured the Speaker, because he, to a great extent, 
shapes and controls the legislation of the countr3^ 
Nor have we had less control in ever^^ other de- 
partment of the General Government. Attorney' 
Generals we have had fourteen, while the North 
have had but five. Foreign ministers we have had 
eighty-six, and they but fifty-four. While three- 
fourths of the business which demands diplomatic 
agents abroad is clearly from the Free States, 
from their greater commercial interest, yet we 
have had the principal embassies so as to secure 
the world markets for our cotton, tobacco, and 
sugar on the best possible terms. We have had a 
vast majority of the higher officers of both army 
and navy, while a larger proportion of the soldiers 
and sailors were drawn from the North. Equally 
so of Clerks, Auditors, and Comptrollers filling the 
executive department, the records show for the 
last fifty years that of the three thousand thus 
employed, we have had more than two-thirds of 
the same, while we have but one-third of the white 
population of the Republic. 

"Again, look at another item, and one, be as- 
sured, in which we have a great and vital interest; 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 105 

it is that of revenue, or means of supporting Gov- 
ernment. From official documents, we learn that 
a fraction over three-fourths of the revenue col- 
lected for the support of the Government has uni- 
formly been raised from the North. 

"Pause now, while 3'ou can, gentlemen, and 
contemplate carefully and candidly these impor- 
tant items. Look at another necessary branch of 
Goverument. I mean the mail and postoffice priv- 
ileges. The expense for the transportation of the 
mail in the Free States was, by the report of the 
Postmaster General for the year 18G0, a little 
over 113,000,000, while the income was |19,000,000. 
But in the Slave States the transportation of the 
mail was .fl4,71(),000, while the revenue from the 
same was $8,001,026, leaving a deficit of |(),704,9T4, 
to be supplied by the North for our accommoda- 
tion, and without it we must have been entirely 
cut off from this most essential branch of Govern- 
ment. 

"Leaving out of view, for the present, the count- 
less millions of dollars you must expend in a war 
with the North, with tens of thousands of your 
sons and brothers slain in battle, and offered up 
as sacrifices' upon the altar of your ambition — and 
for what, we ask again? Is it for the overthrow 
of the American Government, established by our 
common ancestry, cemented and built up by their 
sweat and blood, and fouuded on the broad prin- 
ciples of liight. Justice and Humanity? And, as 
such, I must declare here, as I have often done 
before, and which has been repeated by the great- 



106 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

est and wisest statesmen and patriots in this and 
other lands, that it is the best and freest Gov- 
ernment — the most equal in its rights, the most 
just in its decisions, tlie most lenient in its meas- 
ures, and the most aspiring in its principles to 
elevate the race of man, that the sun of heaven 
ever shone upon. Now, for you to attempt to over- 
throAV such a government as this, under which we 
have lived for more than three-quarters of a cen- 
tury — in which we have gained our wealth, our 
standing as a nation, our domestic safetj- w^hile 
the elements of peril are around us, with peace 
and tranquillity accompanied with unbounded 
prosperity and rights unassailed — is the height 
of madness, folly, and wickedness, to which I can 
neither lend my sanction nor my vote." 

No man, in the South, so clearly understood 
the situation as Mr. Stephens. His words were 
prophetic. 

Although he was a slaveholder, and a firm be- 
liever in slavery, yet he was a strong friend of 
the Union and felt that it was no light matter 
to sever that Union. His birth and early training 
had much to do with this friendship for the Union. 
He represented the conservative Union men of 
the South. 

He was born of humble parents and reared in 
comparative poverty. By his own inherent powers 
he had raised himself to the rank of a statesman, 
and no man stood higher in the South than he — 
with the great mass of the people. It may be truly 
said that he represented the common people and 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 107 

was the great "Commoner" of the South, as Thad- 
deiis Stevens was of the North. 

But he was overpowered in his views by the 
aristocracy of his State, — by menaces and in other 
ways, — by such men as Toombs,-^ Cobb, and oth- 
ers who were determined, right or wrong, to over- 
throw the Eepublic; and finally, he gave in his 
adhesion to the Confederacy and became its Vice- 
President. 

In contrast with Mr. Stephens, I now refer to 
the tyi)ical aristocrat of the South— Jefferson Da- 
vis, of Mississippi, then a member of the Senate 
of the United States from that State. In January, 
ISGl, he arose in his seat and addressed the Senate 
and said: "I rise, Mr. President, for the purpose 
of announcing to the Senate that I have satisfac- 
tory evidence that the State of Mississippi, by a 
solemn ordinance of her people in convention as- 
sembled, has declared her separation from the 
United States. Under these circumstances, of 
course, mj functions are terminated here. * * * 
The occasion does not invite me to go into argu- 
ment. * * * And yet it seems to become me 
to say something on the part of the State I here 
represent, on an occasion so solemn as this. It 
is known to Senators who have served with me 
here, that I have for many years advocated as an 



25Robert Toombs, born in Washington, Georgia, ISIO. Graduate 
Union College, New York, 182S. Admitted tc the bar, 1830. Served in 
the Georgia Legislature: in Congress from 1S44 to 1S53, when he was 
elected United States Senator, retiring on secession of Georgia. 
He was a Southern fire-eater of a pronounced type, and an un- 
compromising Secessionist. Became Secretary of State of Southern 
Confederacy, and Brigadier General. Never accepted the general 
amnesty offered by the Government of the United States to the 
rebels at the close of Civil War. Died December 15, 1885. 



108 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

essential attribute of State sovereignty, the right 
of a State to secede from the Union. Therefore, 
if I had not believed there was justifiable cause; 
if I had thought that Mississippi was acting with- 
out sufficient provocation, or without any existing 
necessity, I should still, under my theory of the 
Government, because of my allegiance to the State 
of which I am a citizen, have been bound by her 
action. I, however, may be permitted to say that 
I do think she has justifiable cause and I approve 
of her act. I conferred with her people before that 
act w^as taken, counseled them then that if the 
state of things which they apprehended should 
exist when the convention met, they should take 
the action they have now adopted. * * * i 
therefore say I concur in the action of the people 
of Mississippi, believing it to be necessary and 
proper, and should have been bound by their action 
if my belief had been otherwise. * * * ^/^ 
State finding herself in the condition in which 
Mississippi has judged she is; in which her safety 
requires that she should provide for the mainte- 
nance of her rights out of the Union, surrenders 
all the benefits (and they are known to be many), 
deprives herself of the advantages (they are known 
to be great), severs all the ties of affection (and 
they are close and enduring) which have bound her 
to the Union; and thus divesting herself of every 
benefit, taking upon herself every burden, she 
claims to be exempt from any power to execute the 
laws of the United States within her limits. * * 
"It has been a conviction of pressing necessity, 



CONSPIRACY AND SECESSION. 109 

it has been a belief that we are to be deprived in 
the Union, of the rights which our fathers be- 
queathed to us, which has brought Mississippi into 
her present decision. She has heard proclaimed 
the theory that all men are created free and equal, 
and this made the basis of an attack on her social 
institutions; and the sacred Declaration of Inde- 
pendence has been invoked to maintain the posi- 
tion of the equality of the races. * * * When 
our Constitution was formed, they were not put 
upon the footing of equality with white men — not 
even upon that of paupers and convicts, but so 
far as representation was concerned, were discrim- 
inated against as a lower caste only to be repre- 
sented in a numerical proportion of three-fifths. 

"Then, Senators, we recur to the compact which 
binds us together; we recur to the principles upon 
which our government was founded; and when 
you deny them, and when you deny to us, the 
right to withdraw from a government which thus 
prevented, threatens to be destructive of our 
rights, we but tread in the path of our fathers 
when we proclaim our independence, and take the 
hazard. This is done not in hostility to others, not 
to injure an^^ section of the country, not even for 
our own pecuniary benefit, but from the high and 
solemn motive of defending and protecting the 
rights we inherited, and which it is our sacred duty 
to transmit unshorn to our children. 

"I find in myself, perhaps, a type of the general 
feeling of my constituents towards yours. I am 
sure I feel no hostility to you, Senators of the 



110 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

North. * * * I therefore feel that I but ex- 
press their desire when I saj I hope, and the^^ hope 
for peaceful relations with you, though we must 
part. They may be mutually beneficial to us in 
the future as they have been in the past, if you 
so will it. The reverse may bring disaster on 
every portion of the country; and if you will have 
it thus, we will invoke the God of our fathers, who 
delivered them from the powxr of the lion, to pro- 
tect us from the ravages of the bear, and thus, 
putting our trust in God, and to our firm hearts 
and strong arms Ave will vindicate the right as best 
we may. 

"Mr. President and Senators, having made the 
announcement which the occasion seemed to me 
to require, it only remains for me to bid you a final 
adieu." 

What a spectacle was here presented! A Sen- 
ator of the United States, who had taken an oath 
to support its Constitution, rising in his place and 
solemnly declaring that he had counseled the dis- 
ruption of his country; and that whether he 
thought there was cause or no cause for his State 
withdrawing from the Union he would stand by 
her, — under the false claim that his allegiance to 
her was paramount to that of the Union. 

I think of but one parallel in history with this 
base betra^^al of country; and that is Catiline, a 
member of the Koman Senate, who formed and 
headed a conspiracy to destroy his country. Like 
Catiline, Davis conspired to destroy his country 



THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY. Ill 

while he yet was in the Senate. But there was 
no Cicero^^ there to denounce him. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACT. 

The conspiracy was carried out by the leaders 
of the South, of which Mr. Davis was chief, eleven 
States seceding from the Union^^ and forming a 
Confederacy, with a written Constitution, under 
the name of "The Confederate States of America," 
and chose Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, as their 
President, and Alexander 11. Stephens of Georgia, 
as their Vice President — the two representative 
types of the people of the South. 

The records of history show that the politicians 
of South Carolina, according to agreement, took 
the first step toward open rebellion. For that pur- 
pose, an extraordinary^ session of the Legislature 
was held at the time of the Presidential election, 
Nov. 6, 1800, and, soon after the result was known, 

28Marcus Tullius Cicero, the greatest orator of Rome, and one of 
the most illustrious of her statesmen, was born at Arpinum, on the 
3d of January, in the year 106 B. C. Cicero, while consul (63 B. C), 
frustrated the conspiracy of Catiline with great skill and prompt- 
ness. The history of this conspiracy is given by Sallust, the great 
Roman historian, in a remarkably clear, concise and nervous style. 
His account of it, however, does not do justice to Cicero. 

-"These were the following States, named in the order of their 
passing secession ordinances: South Carolina, December 20, 1860; 
Mississippi, January 9, 1861; Florida, January 10; Alabama, January 
11; Georgia, January 19; Louisiana, January 26; Texas, February 
1; Virginia, April 17: Arkansas, May 6; North Carolina, May 
20; Tennessee, June 8. The first seven seceded before and the 
remaining four after the firing on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861. The 
Confederacy was formed by the first seven on the 8th of February. 
1860, at Montgomery, Alabama; the others joined it as soon as they 
passed ordinances of secession, although as a matter of fact many 
of the leaders in these States had been acting with it before that. 



112 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

the Legislature authorized a convention of dele- 
gates, for the purpose of declaring the State sep- 
arated from the Union, and taking measures for 
maintaining what they called the "Sovereignty of 
South Carolina." The members of that Convention 
were chosen on the od of December, and the}^ met 
at Charleston. On the 20th day of December, 18G0, 
they adopted an Ordinance of Secession ;^^ and 
that evening, in the presence of the Governor and 
his council, the Legislature, and a vast concourse 
of citizens, it was signed in the great Hall of 
the South Carolina Institute, by one hundred and 
seventy of the members. 

On this historic occasion, a significant banner 
was hung back of the chair of the president of the 
convention. Upon it was represented an arch 
composed of fifteen stars (each indicating a slave- 
labor State) rising out of a heap of broken and 
disordered stones, representing the Free-labor 
States. The key-stone w^as South Carolina, on 
which stood a statue of John C. Calhoun. This 
banner was a declaration of the intention of the 
convention to destroy the Republic, and to erect 
upon its ruins an empire whose corner-stone should 
be slavery. Beneath the design on the banner 
were the words: "Built from the Buins."-^ 

-«This ordinance of secession reads as follows: "We, the people 
of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, 
and it is hereby declared and ordained, that the ordinance adopted 
by us in convention, on the twenty-third day of May, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand se\-en hundred and eighty-eight, whereby 
the Constitution of the United States was ratified, and also all Acts 
and parts of Acts of the General Assembly of the State, ratifying 
Amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed, and the 
union now subsisting- between South Carolina and other States, 
under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dis- 
solved." 

""Lossing's "The First Century of the United States." 



THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY. 113 

This action of Soutli Carolina was speedily 
imitated by the politicians, in the interest of the 
conspirators, in the other States which seceded 
from the Union. 

Mr. Stephens, now launched on the sea of rebel- 
lion, undertook to vindicate this new Government 
and its Constitution, in a speech delivered at Sa- 
vannah, Georgia, on the 21st day of March, 1861, 
which is all that need be said of them; for his 
attempted vindication, in the light of the truth, is 
their condemnation. 

"The new Constitution," said Mr. Stephens, 
"has put at rest forever all the agitating questions 
relating to our peculiar institutions — African slav- 
ery as it exists among us — the proper status of the 
negro in our form of civilization. This was the 
immediate cause of the late rupture and present 
revolution. Jefferson, in his forecast, had antici- 
pated this as the 'rock upon which the old Union 
would split.' He was right. What was conjecture 
with him, is now a realized fact. But whether 
he fully comprehended the great truth upon which 
tliat rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The 
prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of 
the leading statesmen at the time of the formation 
of the old Constitution (Constitution of the United 
States), were that the enslavement of the African 
was in violation of the laws of nature; that it 
was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and polit- 
ically. It was an evil they knew not well how to 
deal v\ith, but the general opinion of the men of 
that day was, that somehow or other, in the order 



114 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

of Providence, the institution would be evanescent 
and pass away. This idea, though not incorpo- 
rated in the Constitution, was the prevailing idea 
at the time. The Constitution, it is true, secured 
every essential guarantee to the institution while 
it should last, and hence no argument can be justly 
used against the constitutional guarantees thus 
secured, because of the common sentiment of the 
day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally 
wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the 
equality of races. This was an error. It was 
a sandy foundation, and the idea of a government 
built upon it; when the 'storm came and the wind 
blew, it fell.' 

"Our new Government is founded upon exactly 
the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its 
corner-stone rests upon the great truth that the 
negro is not equal to the white man. That slavery 
■ — subordination to the superior race, is his natural 
and normal condition. This, our new Government, 
is the first, in the history of the world, based upon 
this great physical and moral truth. This truth 
has been slow in the process of its development, 
like all other truths in the various departments of 
science. It has been so even amongst us. Mau}^ 
who hear me, perhaps, can recollect well, that 
this truth was not generally admitted, even within 
their day. The errors of the past generation still 
clung to many as late as twenty years ago. Those 
at the North who still cling to these errors, with 
a zeal above knowledge, we justly denominate 
fanatics. * * * 



THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY. 115 

"It is the first government ever instituted upon 
principles of strict conformity to nature, and the 
ordination of Providence, in furnishing the mate- 
rials of human society. Many governments have 
been founded upon the principle of certain class- 
es; but the classes thus enslaved, were of the 
same race, and in violation of the laws of nature. 
Our system commits no such violation of nature's 
laws. The negro, by nature, or by the curse against 
Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he occu- 
pies in our system. The architect, in the construc- 
tion of buildings, lays the foundation with the 
proper materials, the granite; then comes the 
brick or the marble. The substratum of our soci- 
ety is made of the material fitted by nature for it, 
and by experience we know that it is best, not only 
for the superior, but for the inferior race that it 
should be so. It is, indeed, in conformity with 
the ordinance of the Creator. It is not for us to 
inquire into the wisdom of His ordinances, or to 
question them. For Ilis own purposes He has 
made one race to differ from another, as He has 
made 'one star to differ from another star in glory.' 

"The great objects of humanitj^ are best at- 
tained when conformed to His laws and decrees, 
in the formation of governments, as well as in all 
things else. Our Confederacy is founded upon 
principles in strict conformity with these laws. 
This stone which was first rejected by the first 
builders 'is become the chief stone of the corner' 
in our new edifice. 

"The progress of disintegration in the old 



116 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Union may be expected to go on with almost abso- 
lute certainty. We are now the nucleus of a grow- 
ing power, which, if we are true to ourselves, our 
destin^^, and high mission, will become the con- 
trolling power on this continent. To what extent 
accessions will go on in the process of time, or 
where it w^ill end, the future will determine." 



CHAPTER VI. 

BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 

From the time of the election of Mr. Lincoln, 
the conspirators used every effort to cripple the 
Government; and many of them held high posi- 
tions in the (jovernment, so that they were in a 
position to carry out their treasonable designs. 

President Buchanan"^ did nothing to foil the 
conspirators, some of whom were in his cabinet; 
neither did he make any effort to prevent" a dis- 
ruption of the Union, nor but little to protect the 

^"James Buchanan was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, 
April 23, 1791. Educated at Dickenson College, where he graduated 
at the age of eighteen. In 18U9 he was admitted to tlie bai, ana 
was soon in successful practice. In 1814, when only twenty-three 
years of age, he was elected to a seat in the I^egisiature of Penn- 
.sylvania. This was his first prominent appeal ance in public life. 
In 1S15 he distinguished himself in his State Legislature as an op- 
ponent of the United States Bank, and became one of the fore- 
most men in the Democratic party. Elected to Congress in 1820, and 
there soon became distinguished as a speaker and debater. After 
ten years' service, he retired from Congress in 1S31 when President 
Jackson appointed him Minister to Russia. In 1S33 he was elected 
to the Ignited States Senate, where he served ten years. President 
Polk called him to his cabinet, as Secretary of State: and in 1849 
he again retired to private life. In 1853 he was appointed Minister 
to England. In No\'ember, ISijfi, he was elected President of the 
United States by the Democratic party, and was inaugiu'ated as 
such March 4th, 18.57. At the close of his term, March 4th. ISfil, he 
retired to private life at his country seat, called "Wheatland," near 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he died June 1, 186S. 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. lit 

property of the United States in the rebellious 
States; claiming that he did not have the power 
to do so. 

The conspirators, — who had been colleagues or 
were disciples of John C. Calhoun, — had been for 
years plotting treason against the Government of 
the United States. They were of one mind in re- 
gard to the overt act ; but they differed somewhat 
as to time and manner. Those of South Carolina 
who, by common sentiment, were expected to lead 
in the great movement, were anxious for imme- 
diate action, and when they found those of other 
sister slave-States hesitating, they resolved not 
to wait for their co-operation. For a while this 
question divided the secessionists, but it w^as soon 
settled by general co-operation. Everything was 
favorable to their plans. Three, if not four, of the 
leading conspirators were then members of Presi- 
dent Buchanan's cabinet, and the President him- 
self and his Attorney General (.Jeremiah S. Black,*^^ 
of Pennsylvania) were ready to declare,. and did 
declare, that the Constitution gave the President 
of the United States no powder to stay the arm 
of rebellion against the Government. Of the Pres- 
ident, Jacob Thompson,'^- of his cabinet, said: 
"Buchanan is the truest friend of the South I have 
ever known in the North. He is a jewel of a 
man.'-^" 

^■Jeremiah S. Black was born in Pennsylvania, 1810. Attorney 
General under President Buchanan. In December, 1860, appointed 
Secretary of State by the President in place of Gen. Cass, resigned. 
Died, 1883. 

^-Jacob Thompson was born in North Carolina, 1810. Secretary 
of the Interior under President Buchanan from March, 1857, to Jan- 
uary 7, 1861. Was one of the most active secessionists before and 
after the breaking out of the Civil War. Died, 1885. 

33Autograph letter, November 20, 1860. 



118 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

Howell Cobb of Georgia, Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, wished to hold back the blow until the close 
of Buchanan's term, but he was overruled by the 
other conspirators, who counted upon the Presi- 
dent's passive, if not active, sympathy with them.^'* 

During the four months intervening between 
the Presidential election, November 6, 1860, and 
the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, March 4, 1861, 
those favoring secession in the South had practical 
control of their section, for while President Bu- 
chanan hesitated as to his constitutional powers 
and failed to perform his duty as the Executive 
of the Nation, the conspirators, who were in his 
cabinet and in the Senate, were aiding their South- 
ern friends in every practical way. 

These men, who had taken a solemn oath to 
support the Constitution of the United States, sat 
in their places in Washington, were paid by the 
Government of the United States to promote the 
best interests of that Government and of the Ke- 
public, and instead of doing that were plotting 
its destruction. They remained in their positions 
only for the purpose of insuring the success of 
their conspiracy — only that they might counter- 
balance the votes of men loyal to the Republic, and 
keep at dead lock all the essential functions of 
government. These are not mere assertions nor 
vague deductions with no evidence to support 
them. The evidence is abundant, but many of the 
histories of the day do not give it; neither do they 
refer to a conspiracy nor to the conspirators. The 

"^Lossing's "The First Century of the United States." 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 119 

fact is, however, that the records of treacherous 
conspiracy show none more infamous. 

Senator D. L. Yulee, of Florida, in a private 
letter to one of his constituents, Joseph Finegan, 
told the designs of the conspirators in Washing- 
ton.^^ "On the other side," he said, "is a copy of 
resolutions adopted at a consultation of the Sen- 
ators from the seceding States in which Georgia, 
Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi 
and Florida, were present. 

"The idea of the meeting was that the States 
should go out at once, and provide for the early 
organization of a Confederate government, not 
later than 15th February. This time is allowed 
to enable Louisiana and Texas to participate. It 
seemed to be the opinion that if we left here force, 
loan, and volunteer bills might be passed, which 
would put Mr. Lincoln in immediate condition for 
hostility; whereas if by remaining in our places 
until the 4th of March, it is thought we can keep 
the hands of Mr. Buchanan tied, and disable the 
Republicans from effecting any legislation which 
will strengthen the hands of the incoming admin- 
istration. 

"The resolutions will be sent by the delegation 
to the President of the convention. I have not 
been able to find Mr. Mallory^^ this morning. 
Hawkins is in Connecticut. I have therefore 
thought it best to send you this copy of the reso- 
lutions." 



s^Autograph letter dated at Washington, January 1, 1861. 
38Stephen B. Mallory, a United States Senator from Florida, 
afterward made Secretary of the Navy of the Southern Confederacy. 



120 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

To add to the shame and perfidy, this letter 
was secured a swift and free passage to Mr. Fiu- 
egan under the Honorable (?) writer's Senatorial 
frank.37 

With these men, says the historian of that 
time, secession was a foregone conclusion, and de- 
lay and vacillation on the part of the half-hearted 
supporters of the Government, in power, only 
aided the accomplishment of their designs. This 
was made plain on the 31st of December, 1860, by 
Senator Benjamin,^^'^ of Louisiana, a State which 
iiad not yet taken even the preliminary steps to 
secession. In a speech meant both as a threat and 
a valedictory, he announced to the Senate that 
during the next week Mississippi, Alabama, and 
Florida would separate from the Union; that a 
week after Georgia would follow them, to be fol- 
lowed shortly by Louisiana and Arkansas. He de- 
clared that the day of adjustment was past, and 
that when the members of that body parted, they 
would part to meet again as Senators in one 
common council-chamber of the Nation no 
more forever; and, announcing it as his belief 
that there could not be peaceable secession, he 
defied the attempt to subdue the revolted people 
to the authority of the Constitution. Couching 
this defiance in the phraseology adopted by the 
conspirators, he closed his speech with these 
words: 

'^'Harper's "Pictorial History ot the Great Rebellion," pp. 31, 32. 

='=^Judah P. Benjamin was born in St. Domingo, 1812. Removed to 
New Orleans, La., ISol. United States Senator, 1852-1S61. Appointed 
Attorney General Southern Confederacy, 1861. At the close of the 
Civil War went to England, where he practiced law, and became 
a Q. C. Died, 1885. 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 121 

"What may be the fate of this horrible contest 
none can foretell; but this much I will say — the 
fortunes of war may be adverse to our arms; you 
may carr^^ desolation into our peaceful laud, and 
with torch and firebrand may set our cities in 
flames; you may even emulate the atrocities of 
those who in the days of our Revolution hounded 
on the bloodthirsty savage; you may give the pro- 
tection of your advancing armies to the furious 
fanatics who desire nothing more than to add the 
horrors of servile insurrection to civil war; you 
may do this and more, but you never can subjugate 
us; you never can subjugate the free sons of the 
soil into vassals paying tribute to your power; 
you can never degrade them into a servile and in- 
ferior race — never, never, never !"^^ 

On December 30th, 1860, in answer to the visit- 
ing commissioners from South Carolina, K. W. 
Barnwell, J. H. Adams, and James L. Orr, who for- 
mally submitted that Staters Ordinance of Seces- 
sion and demanded possession of the forts in 
Charleston harbor, President Buchanan said: 

"In answer to this communication, I have to say 
that my position as President of the United States 
was clearly defined in the message to Congress on 
the 3d inst. In that I stated that 'apart from the 
execution of the laws, so far as this may be prac- 
ticable, the Executive has no authority to decide 
what shall be the relations between the Federal 
Government and South Carolina. He has been in- 
vested with no such discretion. He possesses no 

3»Harper's "Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion," p. 32. 



122 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

power to change the relations heretofore existing 
between them, mucli less to acknowledge the in- 
dependence of that State. This would be to invest 
a mere executive officer with the power of recog- 
nizing the dissolution of the Confederacy among 
our thirty-three sovereign States. It bears no re- 
semblance to the recognition of a foreign de facto 
government, involving no such responsibility. 
Any attempt to do this would, on his part, be a 
naked act of usurpation. It is, therefore, my duty 
to submit to Congress the whole question in all its 
bearings.' 

"Such is my opinion still. I could, therefore, 
meet joii only as private gentlemen of the highest 
character, and was entirely willing to communi- 
cate to Congress any proposition you might have 
to make to that body upon the subject. Of this 
you were well aware. It was my earnest desire 
that such a disposition might be made of the whole 
subject by Congress, who alone possess the power, 
as to prevent the inauguration of a civil war be- 
tween the i^arties in regard to the possession of the 
Federal forts in the harbor of Charleston." 

President Buchanan, in his annual message of 
December 3, 1860, had appealed to Congress to in- 
stitute an amendment to the Constitution recog- 
nizing the rights of the Southern States in regard 
to slavery in the Territories, and as this document 
embraced the views which subsequently led to 
such a general discussion of the right of secession 
and of the right to coerce a State, I make a liberal 
quotation from it: 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 123 

"I have purposely confined my remarks to revo- 
lutionary resistance because it has been claimed 
within the last few years that any State, when- 
ever this shall be its sovereign will and pleasure, 
may secede from the Union in accordance with the 
Constitution, and without any violation of the 
constitutional rights of the other members of the 
Confederacy. That as each became parties to the 
Union by the vote of its own people assembled in 
convention, so any one of them may retire from 
the Union in a similar manner by the vote of such 
a convention. 

"In order to justify secession as a constitutional 
remedy, it must be on the principle that the Fed- 
eral Government is a mere voluntary association 
of States, to be dissolved at pleasure by any one of 
the contracting parties. If this be so, the Con- 
federacy is a rope of sand, to be penetrated and dis- 
solved by the first adverse wave of public opinion 
in any of the States. In this manner our thirty- 
three States may resolve themselves into as many 
petty, jarring, and hostile republics, each one re- 
tiring from the Union without responsibility 
whenever any sudden excitement might impel 
them to such a course. By this process a Union 
might be entirely broken into fragments in a few 
weeks, which cost our forefathers many years of 
toil, privation, and blood to establish. 

"Such a principle is wholly inconsistent with 
the history as well as the character of the Federal 
Constitution. After it was framed with the great- 
est deliberation and care, it was submitted to con- 



124 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

ventions of the people of the several States for rati- 
fication. Its provisions were discussed at length 
in these bodies, composed of the first men of the 
country. Its opponents contended that it con- 
ferred powers upon the Federal Government dan- 
gerous to the rights of the States, whilst its advo- 
cates maintained that, under a fair construction 
of the instrument, there was no foundation for 
such apprehensions. In that mighty struggle be- 
tween the first intellects of this or an}- other coun- 
try, it never occurred to any individual, either 
among its oj^ponents or advocates, to assert or 
even to intimate that their efforts were all vain 
labor, because the moment that any State felt her- 
self aggrieved she might secede from the Union. 
What a crushing argument w^ould this have 
proved against those who dreaded that the rights 
of the States would be endangered by the Consti- 
tution. The truth is, that it was not until some 
years after the origin of the Federal Government 
that such a proposition was first advanced. It 
was afterwards met and refuted by the conclusive 
arguments of General Jackson,^*^ who, in his mes- 

*°Andrew Jackson was born March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaw settle- 
ment, Mecklenberg- County, North Carolina, close to the South 
Carolina boundary line. When but a lad he entered the revolu- 
tionary army and was taken prisoner by the British, where he 
received brutal treatment. In 17S4 he began the study of law in 
Salisbury, North Carolina. Four years later he remove'd to Nash- 
ville, Tenn., where he opened a law office. In 1797 he was elected 
United States Senator, but soon resigned. Re-elected in 1S23. 

During the war of 1812 Jackson was appointed major general in 
the regular army, and gained a great victory over the British at 
New Orleans. By this, and his victories over the Indians, he 
acquired great popularity, and in consequence was elected President 
of the United States by the Democratic party, in 1828; and again 
in 1832. 

He was a man of indomitable will and of great firmness; and 
earned the nickname of "Old Hickory." It was while he was Pres- 
ident that South Carolina undertook to nullify a law of Congress, 
passed in 1S28, in regard to the tariff— a protective tariff. John C. 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 125 

sage of the IGtli of January, 1833, transmitting the 
nullifying ordinance of South Carolina to Con- 
gress, employs the following language: 'The 
right of the people of a single State to absolve 
themselves at will and without the consent of the 
other States from their most solemn obligations, 
and hazard the liberty and happiness of the mil- 
lions composing this Union, cannot be acknowl- 
edged. Such authority is believed to be utterly 
repugnant both to the principles upon which the 
General Government is constituted, and to the ob- 
jects which it was expressly formed to attain.' 

"It is not pretended that any clause in the Con- 
stitution gives countenance to such a theory. It 
is altogether founded upon inference, not from 
any language contained in the instrument itself, 
but from the sovereign character of the several 
States by which it was ratified. But it is beyond 
the power of a State, like an individual, to yield a 
portion of its sovereign rights to secure the re- 
mainder. In the language of Mr. Madison, who 
has been called the father of the Constitution, 'It 
was formed by the States — that is, by the people 
in each of the States acting in their highest sov- 
ereign capacity, and formed consequently by the 
same authority which formed the State constitu- 
tions.' 'Nor is the Government of the United 



Calhoun and Rotat. Y. Hayne were at the head of this movement. 
South Carolina said, in effect, "If the Government of the United 
States undertakes to enforce this law we will resist by arms and go 
out of the Union." Jackson replied, "No, you will not!" that "Our 
Federal Union must be preserved." The nulliflers got no sympathy 
from him; but his determined stand at that time did not prevent 
the same State from seceding- from the Union thirty years later. 
Jackson died at his farm of the Hermitage, near Nashville, June 
8, 1S45. 



126 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

States, created by the Constitution, less a Govern- 
ment, in the strict sense of the term within the 
sphere of its powers, than the governments cre- 
ated by the constitutions of the States are within 
their several spheres. It is like them organized 
into legislative, executive, and judiciary depart- 
ments. It operates, like them, directly on persons 
and things; and, like them, it has at command a 
physical force for executing the powers commit- 
ted to it.' 

"It was intended to be perpetual, and not to be 
annulled at the pleasure of any one of the con- 
tracting parties. The old Articles of Confedera- 
tion were entitled, 'Articles of Confederation and 
Perpetual Union between the States'; and by the 
thirteenth article it is expressly declared that 'the 
articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably 
observed by everj^ State, and the Union shall be 
perpetual.' The preamble to the Constitution of 
the United States, having express reference to the 
Articles of Confederation, recites that it was es- 
tablished 'in order to form a more perfect union.' 
And yet it is contended that this 'more perfect 
union' does not include the essential attribute of 
perpetuity. 

"But the Constitution has not only conferred 
these high powers upon Congress, but it has adopt- 
ed effectual means to restrain the States from in- 
terfering with their exercise. For that purpose 
it has in strong prohibitory language expressly 
declared^^ that 'no State shall enter into any 

"See Section 10 of Article I, the Constitution. 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 127 

treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of 
marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of 
credit; make an}- thing but gold and silver coin a 
tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of at- 
tainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
obligation of contracts.' Moreover, 'without the 
consent of Congress no State shall lay any im- 
posts or duties on any imports or exports, except 
what may be absolutely necessary for executing 
its inspection laws,' and if they exceed this 
amount, the excess shall belong to the United 
States. And 'no State shall, without the consent 
of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops 
or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another State, or with 
a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually 
invaded or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay.' 

"In order still further to secure the uninter- 
rupted exercise of these high powers against State 
interposition, it is provided 'that this Constitution 
and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made 
or which shall be made under the authority of the 
United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
land; and the judges in every State shall be bound 
thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of 
any State to the contrarj^ notwithstanding.'^- 

"The solemn sanction of religion has been su- 
peradded to the obligations of official duty, and all 
Senators and Representatives of the United States, 

*2See Article VI of the Constitution. 



128 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORV. 

all members of State Legislatures, and all execu- 
tive and judicial officers, 'both of the United States 
and of the several States, shall be bound by oath 
or affirmation to support this Constitution.'*^ 

"In order to carry into effect these powers, the 
Constitution has established a perfect Govern- 
ment in all its forms, legislative, executive, and 
judicial; and this Government to the extent of its 
powers acts directly upon the individual citizens 
of every State, and executes its own decrees by the 
agency of its own officers. In this respect it dif- 
fers entirely from the Government under the old 
confederation, which was confined to making 
requisitions on the States in their sovereign char- 
acter. This left it in the discretion of each 
w^hether to obey or refuse, and they often declined 
to comply with such requisitions. It thus became 
necessary, for the purpose of removing this bar- 
rier, and 'in order to form a more perfect union,' 
to establish a Government which could act di- 
rectly upon the people and execute its own laws 
without the intermediate agency of the States. 
This has been accomplished by the Constitution 
of the United States. In short, the Government 
created by the Constitution, and deriving its au- 
thority from the sovereign people of each of the 
several States, has precisely the same right to ex- 
ercise its power over the people of all these States 
in the enumerated cases, that each one of them 
possesses over subjects not delegated to the United 

*8See Article VI of the Constitution. 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 129 

States, but ^reserved to the States respectively or 
to tlie peoiDle.'^^ 

"To the extent of the delegated powers the Con- 
stitution of the United States is as much a part 
of the constitution of each State, and is as bind- 
ing upon its people, as though it had been textually 
inserted therein. 

"This Government, therefore, is a great and 
powerful Government, invested with all the attrib- 
utes of sovereignty over the special subjects to 
which its authority extends. Its framers never in- 
tended to implant in its bosom the seeds of its own 
destruction nor were they at its creatioij guilty of 
the absurdity of providing for its own dissolution. 
It was not intended by its framers to be the base- 
less fabric of a vision, which, at the touch of the 
enchanter, would vanish into thin air, but a sub- 
stantial and might}^ fabric, capable of resisting 
the slow decay of time, and of defying the storms 
of ages. Indeed, well may the jealous patriots of 
that day have indulged fears that a Government 
of such high power might violate the reserved 
rights of the States, and Avisely did they adopt the 
rule of a strict construction of these powers to 
prevent the danger. But they did not fear, nor 
had they any reason to imagine that the Constitu- 
tion would ever be so interpreted as to enable any 
State by her own act, and without the consent of 
her sister States, to discharge her people from all 
or any of their federal obligations. 

"It may be asked, then, are the people of the 

*^See Article X of Amendments to the Constitution, 



130 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

States without redress against the tyranny and 
oppression of the Federal Government? By no 
means. The right of resistance on the part of the 
governed against the oppression of their govern- 
ments cannot be denied. It exists independently 
of all constitutions, and has been exercised at all 
periods of the world's history. Under it, old gov- 
ernments have been destroyed and new ones have 
taken their place. It is embodied in strong and 
express language in our own Declaration of In- 
dependence. But the distinction must ever be ob- 
served that this is revolution against an estab- 
lished government, and not a voluntary secession 
from it by virtue of an inherent constitutional 
right. In short, let us look the danger fairly in 
the face; secession is neither more nor less than 
revolution. It may or it may not be a justifiable 
revolution; but still it is revolution." 

The President having thus set forth his views 
as to the Constitution, and having attempted to 
demonstrate that there is no warrant in the Con- 
stitution for secession, but that this was incon- 
sistent both with its letter and spirit, then defines 
his own duties and powers, as the Executive head 
of the Nation. 

"What, in the meantime," he says, "is the re- 
sponsibility and true position of the Executive? 
He is bound by solemn oath, before God and the 
country, 'to take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed,' and from this obligation he cannot be 
absolved by any human power. But what if the- 
performance of this duty, in whole or in part, has 



BUCHANAN AND THE REBELLION. 131 

been rendered impracticable by events over which 
he could have exercised no control? Such, at the 
present moment, is the case throughout the State 
of South Carolina, so far as the laws of the United 
States to secure the administration of justice bv 
means of the Federal judiciary are concerned. All 
the Federal officers within its limits, through 
whose agency alone these laws can be carried into 
execution, have already resigned. We no longer 
have a district judge, a district attorney, or a mar- 
shal in South Carolina. In fact, the whole ma- 
chinery of the Federal Government necessary for 
the distribution of remedial justice among the peo- 
ple has been demolished, and it would be difficult, 
if not impossible, to replace it. 

"The only acts of Congress on the statute book 
bearing upon this subject are those of the 28th 
February, 1795, and 3rd March, 1807. These au- 
thorize the President, after he shall have ascer- 
tained that the marshal, with his posse comitatus, 
is unable to execute civil or criminal process in any 
particular case, to call forth the militia and em- 
ploy the army and navy to aid him in performing 
this service, having first b}'' i^roclamatiou com- 
manded the insurgents 'to disperse and retire 
peaceably to their respective abodes within a lim- 
ited time.' This duty cannot by possibility be 
performed in a State where no judicial authority 
exists to issue process, and where there is no mar- 
shal to execute it, and where, even if there were 
such an officer, the entire population would con- 
stitute one solid combination to resist him. 



132 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

"The same insuperable obstacles do not lie in 
the way of executing the laws for the collection of 
customs. The revenue still continues to be col- 
lected, as heretofore, at the custom house in 
Charleston, and should the collector unfortunately 
resign, a successor may be appointed to perform 
tliis duty. 

"Then, in regard to the property of the United 
States in South Carolina. This has been purchased 
for a fair equivalent, 'by the consent of the Legis- 
lature of the State,' 'for the erection of forts, maga- 
zines, arsenals,' etc., and over these the authority 
'to exercise exclusiv^e legislation' has been express- 
ly granted by the Constitution to Congress,^' It 
is not believed that any attempt will be made to 
expel the United States from this property by 
force; but if in this I should prove to be mistaken, 
the officer in command of the forts has received 
orders to act strict]}^ on the defensive. In such a 
contingency the responsibility for consequences 
would rightfully rest upon the heads of the as- 
sailants." 

Here the President sets forth the part of his 
message which he quoted in his answer to the 
Commissioners who presented to him the ordi- 
nance of secession of South Carolina ;^'^ and then 
goes on and gives his opinion that the Constitution 
of the United States has conferred no power on the 
Government to coerce a State to remain in the 
Union, in the following language: 

*^See Section S of Article I, the Constitution. 
*«See page 121, ante. 



AN ARGUMENT. 133 

"The question fairly stated is, Has the Consti- 
tution delegated to Congress the power to coerce 
a State into submission which is attempting to 
withdraAv, or has actuall}^ withdrawn from the 
Confederacy^? If answered in the affirmative, it 
must be on the principle that the power has been 
conferred upon Congress to make war against a 
State. 

"After much serious reflection, I have arrived 
at the conclusion that no such power has been 
delegated to Congress or to au}^ other department 
of the Federal Government, It is manifest, upon 
an inspection of the Constitution, that this is not 
among the specific and enumerated powers grant- 
ed to Congress; and it is equally apparent that its 
exercise is not 'necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution' any of these powers. * * *" 



CHAPTEK VII. 



AN ARGUMENT. 



The President's argument, against the claimed 
right of secession, was strong; but weak on the 
vital point — the remedy against those who were 
attempting to destroy the Union by secession. He 
clearly demonstrated that the Constitution was 
intended by its framers to be perpetual; that it 
did not provide for its own termination; that the 
Constitution was formed by the people acting in 
their highest sovereign capacity; and that the 



134 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Union made by that Constitution is not a mere 
"N'oluntary association of States, to be dissolved at 
pleasure by any one of them, but that it is an ever- 
lasting Union to be dissolved only by the consent 
of the sovereign power that made it — the people 
of the United States. In the words of Washing- 
ton, the president of the convention which framed 
the Constitution, and the first President of the Re- 
public under that Constitution, "Until changed by 
an explicit and deliberate act of the whole people, 
it is sacredly obligatory upon all." Charles C. 
Pinckney^''^ of South Carolina, another member of 
the convention which framed the Constitution, 
said, in the Legislature of South Carolina, just be- 
fore the people of that State adopted the Con- 
stitution, "Let us, then, consider all attempts to 
weaken this Union by maintaining that each State 
is separately and individually independent, as a 
species of political heresy which can never benefit 
us, but may bring on us the most serious dis- 
tresses." 

However, if the Government of the United 
States has no power to protect its own life — save 
itself from destruction — then, indeed, is it "a rope 
of sand, to be penetrated and dissolved by the first 
adverse wave of public opinion in any of the 
States." But this is a Government invested with 



^^Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was born in Charleston, S. C, 
February 25th, 1746. Educated in England. Began practice of law 
in Charleston, 1709. Entered revolutionary army, and was captured 
at the fall of Charleston. Appointed U. S. Minister to the French 
Republic, 1796, and second major general In the United States army, 
1797. Author of "Millions for defence, but not one cent for tribute." 
He, aided by others of the South, who helped to frame the Consti- 
tution of the United States, 1787, compelled the concessions made 
in the Constitution with slavery. Died August 16, 1S25. 



AN ARGUMENT. 135 

all the attributes of sovereignty; and its Consti- 
tution and the laws and treaties made thereunder, 
are the supreme law of the land.'*^ "Its framers," 
says the President, "never intended to implant in 
its bosom the seeds of its own destruction, nor 
were they at its creation guilty of the absurdity of 
providing for its own dissolution. It was not in- 
tended by its framers to be the baseless fabric of a 
vision, which, at the touch of the enchanter, would 
vanish into thin air, but a substantial and mighty 
fabric, capable of resisting the slow decay of time, 
and of def}' ing the storms of ages." 

But this being true, does not the Government 
have the inherent power to save itself? When as- 
sailed b}^ internal foes must it keep quiet and per- 
mit its own destruction? May it not be said that 
every government has the power to preserve itself 
w^hether it is so written or not? If the Govern- 
ment of the United States does not have this pow- 
er, either in or outside of the Constitution, of pre- 
serving itself, then, indeed, it has "implanted in 
its bosom the seeds of its own destruction;" and 
is incapable of "defying the storms of ages." But 
is it true that the Constitution does not provide 
for the maintenance of the Government organized 
under it? It is the organic and fundamental law 
of the land, binding on all the States and all the 
people of the United States; and it ijrovides that, 
"the United States shall guarantee to every State 
in this Union a republican form of government ;"^^ 

*8See Article VI. of the Constitution. 
"Section 4 of Article IV. 



136 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

and that, " no State shall enter into any treaty, al- 
liance, or confederation."^'*' These provisions are 
absolute in their terms; and no department of the 
National Government nor of the State govern- 
ments, has the right to violate them. 

The Government of the United States, and of 
the several States, are republican in form and 
must be maintained until a new form of govern- 
ment is adopted by all the people of the United 
States in their sovereign capacity as the source of 
all political power. It is the imperative duty, 
then, of the Government of the United States, un- 
der the Constitution, not to permit any State in 
the Union to establish any other form of govern- 
ment than it had when it became a member of the 
Union under that Constitution; nor to permit any 
State in the Union to "enter into any treaty, alli- 
ance, or confederation" with any other State. In- 
deed, any other doctrine might soon destroy the 
whole fabric of American free government. One 
State, for instance, might change its form of gov- 
ernment to a limited monarchy; another to an ab- 
solute monarchy; and so on through all the differ- 
ent forms of government known to man. And, 
again, a State might enter into an "alliance, or 
confederation," with another State or States, 
either in or out of the Union. In this wa^^ caus- 
ing the ruin of the whole fabric of republican gov- 
ernment "which cost our forefathers so many years 
of toil, privation, and blood to establish." 

These considerations being true, does it not fol- 

»'Section 10 of Article I. 



AN ARGUMENT. 137 

low that the Government of the United States has 
the power to take all the necessary steps to pre- 
vent any such violations of the provisions of the 
Constitution? And that whenever any State un- 
dertakes to withdraw from the Union and estab- 
lish a government of its own, or to enter into an 
"alliance, or confederation" with another State or 
States — as South Carolina and other States of the 
Union did and formed a Confederacy — does it not 
have the power to coerce that State back into the 
Union — back into the relations it occupied in our 
systeju of government before it took on its new re- 
lations? If this be not true, then, indeed, is the 
Constitution of none effect, and the Government 
under it weak, instead of "great and powerful." 

But it is a great and powerful Government, hav- 
ing full power to enforce its Constitution and its 
laws. In the execution of these it is backed by 
the whole military power of the nation, and that 
power is under the control of the President as 
commander-in-chief. With that power to sustain 
him in executing the mandates of the Constitu- 
tion, and the laws enacted under it, the President 
of the United States can overthrow all its enemies 
— internal and external — when he acts with 
promptness and energy. If the time should ever 
come, however, when this is not true the days of 
the Kepublic are numbered. 



138 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

BUCHANAN AND DAVIS. 

At the time President Buchanan sent his mes- 
sage to Congress the slaveholding aristocracy 
were generally in a high state of excitement, be- 
cause of the election of Mr. Lincoln as President. 
"The indignation with which the result of the 
Presidential election was received in the Southern 
States," says Jefferson Davis in his Short History 
of the Confederate States of America,^^ "proceeded 
from no personal hostility to the President-elect, 
nor from chagrin at the defeat of the Democratic 
candidates, but from the fact that the people of the 
Si)uth (the slaveholding aristocracy^) recognized in 
Mr. Lincoln the representative of a party profess- 
ing principles destructive to 'their peace, their 
prosperity , and their domestic tranquillity.' " 

Again he says: "The character of the President 
in power now became an important factor in the 
situation. Mr. Buchanan's freedom from sectional 
asi)erity, his long life in the i3ublic service, his 
conciliatory disposition, his love of peace, and his 
reverence for the Constitution, were guarantees 
that he would not precipitate a conflict with any 
of the States. But it soou became evident that in 
the closing months of his administration he had 
little power to mould the policy of the future. Like 
all intelligent and impartial students of constitu- 
tional history, the President held that the Fed- 



oiPublished in 1890, by Belford Co., New York. See p. 37. 



BUCHANAN AND DAVIS. 139 

eral Government had no rightful power to coerce 
a State; and that although Congress may possess 
many means of preserving it by conciliation, the 
sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it 
by force. Ten years before the date of this mes- 
sage, Mr. Calhoun had uttered similar sentiments 
in the Senate." 

Again, in the same work, Mr. Davis says:^^ 
"Shortly after the election in November, the Sena- 
tors and Representatives of Mississippi were in- 
vited by the Governor to meet him for consulta- 
tion as to the character of the message he should 
send to the special session of the Legislature he 
had called to consider the propriety of assembling 
a convention.^^ 

"While holding, with my political associates, 
that the right of a State to secede was unquestion- 
able, the knowledge I had gained, as Chairman of 
the Military Committee of the United States Sen- 
ate and as Secretary of War, had made me famil- 
iar with the entire lack of preparation for war in 
the South; and as, unlike most of my associates, I 
did not believe that secession would be peaceably 
accomplished, but that war would surel}' ensue be- 
tween the sections, and that the odds against us 
would be far greater than what were due merely 
to our numerical inferioritj^, I was slower and more 
reluctant than others, who held a different opinion, 
to resort to that remedy. * * * While engaged in 
consultation,! received a telegraphic message from 

^-See p. 40. 

^^Secession convention. 



140 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

two members of President Biiclianau's Cabinet, 
urging me to proceed immediately to Washington. 
Advised by my associates to comply, I hastened 
to the Capital and called on the President, who of- 
fered to read me his forthcoming message. I made 
certain suggestions for its modification, all of 
which he kindl}^ accepted, but some of which he 
subsequently changed." 

Thus, while this man and others were plotting 
against their country, he was sent for in haste and 
taken into the confidence of the President of the 
United States, and invited to make suggestions as 
to what his message to the Congress of the United 
States should contain. As to what suggestions 
were made the reader can draw his own conclu- 
sions in the light of the history of that time. If, 
instead of this, the President had treated Davis 
and his co-conspirators, as were Catiline and 
his co-conspirators against the life of the Ro- 
man Republic, in the days of Cicero, the rebellion 
would have been nipped in the bud and the Presi- 
dent would have been crowned with glory. But 
instead of that he took him into his confidence and 
permitted his sympathies for the slave power to 
direct his course in another direction, and thereby 
went out of office in disgrace. 

When the Piesident's message was read in Con- 
gress, Senator Jefferson Davis publicly objected to 
portions of it; but not, of course, to that part where- 
in the President had said that neither he as the 
Executive of the Nation, nor any other department 
of the Government of the United States, had the 



BUCHANAN AND DAVIS. 141 

power to coerce a State to remain in the Union. 
But these objections were puerile and only made 
for effect on the public mind; for what did Mr. Da- 
vis and his co-conspirators care for his doctrine 
that a State had no right to secede from the Union, 
so long" as the President had announced as his 
conclusion that the Government had no power 
given it under the Constitution to coerce a 
State to remain in the Union; and that, owing to 
the condition of affairs in the South, he was 
unable to enforce the laws of the United 
States therein. This attitude of the President to- 
wards the rebellious States, greatly encouraged the 
conspirators and their Southern friends, to push 
secession as rapidly as possible, and to organize a 
new Government while Mr. Buchanan should re- 
main in oflflce. 

The President was in sympathy with the South, 
and hence did not want to do anything to alienate 
his Southern friends. He pretended to believe 
that the South had suffered "serious grievances," 
and his idea seemed to be that those grievances 
ought to be redressed. In this condition of mind, 
from the time of the delivery of his message, he 
exerted all his influence in favor of compromise 
measures with the South, as he pretended the 
Union could not be preserved in any other way. 
He did not comprehend that the time for com- 
promises with the slave-holding aristocracy was 
past; that the real question then was, Shall the 
Government of the United States permit them to 
run it in their. own w^ay or destroy the Republic? 



14'2 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

In a special message to Congress on the 8th of 
January, 1861, the President, after, depicting the 
consequences which had already resulted to the 
Republic from the bare apprehension of civil war 
and the dissolution of the Union, said: 

"Let the question be transferred from political 
assemblies to the ballot box, and the people them- 
selves would speedih" redress the serious griev- 
ances which the South have suffered. But, in Hea- 
ven's name, let the trial be made before we plunge 
into armed conflict upon the mere assumption that 
there is no other alternative. Time is a great con 
servative power. Let us pause at this momentous 
point and afford the people, both North and South, 
an opportunity for reflection. Would that South 
Carolina had been convinced of this truth before 
Jier precipitate action! I, therefore, appeal through 
you to the people of the country, to declare in their 
might that the Union must and shall be i)reserved 
b}^ all constitutional means. I most earnestly rec- 
ommend that you devote yourselves exclusively 
to the question how this can be accomplished in 
peace. All other questions, when compared with 
this, sink into insignificance. The present is no 
time for palliatives; action, prompt action, is re- 
quired. A delay in Congress to prescribe or to 
recommend a distinct and practical proposition for 
conciliation, may drive us to a point from which 
it will be almost impossible to recede. 

"A common ground on which conciliation and 
harmony can be produced is surely not unattain- 
able. The proposition to compromise by letting 



BUCHANAN AND DAVIS. 143 

the North have exclusive control of the territory 
above a certain line, and to give Southern institu- 
tions protection below that line, ought to receive 
universal approbation. In itself, indeed, it may 
not be entireh^ satisfactory, but when the alterna- 
tive is between a reasonable concession on both 
sides and a dissolution of the Union, it is an impu- 
tation on the patriotism of Congress to assert that 
its members will hesitate for a moment." 

This recommendation was totally disregarded, 
although compromise measures were introduced 
in Congress, but they rightfully failed. The friends 
of freedom and of the Union were not willing any 
longer to compromise with the slave power on their 
own terms; nor, indeed, on any terms other than 
to obey the laws of the land, and become loyal citi- 
zens of the Republic. On the other hand, the slave- 
holding aristocracy had made up their minds to 
spurn compromises and set up a Government of 
their own. All talk on their part in favor of com- 
promise was onl}^ to gain time to carry out their 
plans of secession. For they had determined to 
destroy the Republic, rather than to see the power 
of the Nation pass into the hands of the friends of 
freedom. 



144 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CAUSES OF THE REBELLION. 

When Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated President, 
on the 4th of March, 1861, rebellion was rampant. 
He found the Treasury empty, the army and navy 
scattered, forts and other property of the United 
States in possession of the rebels, and disloyalty 
in all the departments of the Government. He 
found the slave-holding aristocracy seeking to de- 
stroy the Government which they ceased to rule. 

The leaders of that aristocracy made the elec- 
tion of Lincoln the pretext for attempting the de- 
struction of the Union. 

The real cause, however, lay deeper. The real 
cause was the great antagonism existing between 
a civilization based on free men, free speech, free 
schools, and free labor; and a civilization based on 
an aristocracy, bottomed on slavery, and opposed 
to these. 

As slavery produced the latter civilization, so it 
was the primary cause of the rebellion. Slavery 
produced a condition which, in the course of events, 
made rebellion not only possible, but probable 
and desirable on the part of those who originated 
and promoted it; or, in other words, the ambition, 
avarice, and selfishness of man, made a condition 
which, in turn, produced rebellion. Indeed, with- 
out that condition, in all probability, the rebellion 
would not have occurred. But, in human affairs, 
man does not always do right. Selfish interests 
impel him to the wrong; and when the time comes 



CAUSES OF THE REBELLION. 145 

— as it always does — to right tlie wrong or the 
wrong seelvS to trample down the right, a conflict 
ensues, which, in governmental affairs especially, 
sometimes ends in rebellion. For, says Madison, 
"Wherever there is an interest and power to do 
wrong, wrong will generall}^ be done." 

The Author of our being, however, does not 
compel any one to pursue this or that course; but 
He permits each to choose the course he desires to 
pursue. He points out, indeed, the way of right 
and how to avoid the wrong, but leaves to each the 
choosing as between the right and the wrong. 
When the wrong is chosen and pursued not only 
the wrong-doer, but others suffer from the conse- 
quences of his acts. As with individuals, so it is 
with states and nations. 

There were but two causes for the rebellion — 
and only two. One primary, the other immediate. 
Many historians, however, give more. But the 
causes given do not agree with facts, and are 
neither logical nor philosophical; they mistake ef- 
fects for causes. 

I have already given the primary cause of the 
rebellion. Its immediate cause was the loss of 
power to promote a wrong condition; namely, a 
civilization based on slavery. 

Long continued power is sweet, especially to 
those who arrogate to themselves the right to rule; 
and when power becomes thoroughly intrenched 
the history of the world shows that it is not given 
up without a struggle. The leaders of the slave- 
holding aristocracy, so long in power, determined 

10 



146 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

not to give it up without a struggle. Beaten at the 
ballot box, they resorted to conspiracy and rebel- 
lion, and finally to the sword. If they could not 
rule the Union, in their way, they would break it 
and set up a Government of their own in accord 
with their civilization, over which their ]3ower 
would be supreme. 

The declaration of a leading and distinguished 
Southern statesman — John C. Calhoun of South 
Carolina — made years before, was now being car- 
ried out. 

"When we cease," he said, "thus to control this 
Nation through a disjointed democracy, or any 
material obstacle in that party which shall tend 
to throw us out of that rule and control, we shall 
then resort to the dissolution of the Union." 



CHAPTER X. 

THE NEW PRESIDENT INAUGURATED. 

Mr. Lincoln entered upon his duties as President 
under great and trying difficulties. He was des- 
tined, however, to guide the ship of state througli 
tiie storm of rebellion, now lashing itself into fury 
against the Government at Washington. Under 
this chaotic condition of things, when the Union 
seemed about to be going down into the darkness 
of oblivion, he was inaugurated President of the 
United States. The question now in every mind 
was, W^hat will President Lincoln do to preserve 
the Union? 



THE NEW PRESIDENT INAUGURATED. 147 

In his inaugural address, after speaking fully 
as to the question of slavery and saying, "I have 
no purpose, directl}'^ or indirectly, to interfere with 
the institution of slavery in the States where it 
exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, 
and I have no inclination to do so," he further 
said: 

"I take the official oath to-day with no mental 
reservations, and with no purpose to construe the 
Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules. 
* * * It is seventy-two years since the first in- 
auguration of a President under our National Con- 
stitution. During that period fifteen different and 
very distinguished citizens have in succession ad- 
ministered the executive branch of the Govern- 
ment. They have conducted it through man}' per- 
ils, and generally with great success. Yet, with 
all this scope for precedent, I now enter upon the 
same task, for the brief constitutional term of four 
years, under great and peculiar difficulties. 

"A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore 
only menaced, is now formidably attempted. I 
hold that in the coutemplation of uuiversal law and 
of the Constitution, the union of these States is 
perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, 
in the fundamental law of all national govern- 
ments. It is safe to assert that no government 
proper ever had a provision in its organic law for 
its own termination. Continue to execute all the 
express provisions of our National Constitution, 
and the Union will endure forever, it being impos- 



148 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

sible to destroy it except by some action not i>ro- 
vided for in the instrument itself. 

"Again, if the United States be not a Govern- 
ment proper, but an association of States in the 
nature of a contract merely, can it, as a contract, 
be peaceabl^^ unmade by less than all the parties 
who made it? One party to a contract may violate 
it — break it, so to speak — but does it not require 
all to lawfully rescind it? Descending from these 
general principles, we find the proposition that in 
legal contemplation the Union is perpetual, con- 
firmed by the history of the Union itself. 

"The Union is much older than the Constitu- 
tion. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of As- 
sociation in 1774. It was matured and continued 
in the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It 
was further matured, and the faith of all the then 
thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged 
that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Con- 
federation in 1781; and, finally, in 1787, one of the 
declared objects for ordaining and establishing the 
Constitution was to form a more perfect Union. 
But if the destruction of the Union by one, or by 
a part only of the States, be lawfully possible, the 
Union is less than before, the Constitution having 
lost the vital element of perpetuity. 

"It follows from these views that no State, upon 
its own mere motion, can laAvfully get out of the 
Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect 
are legally void; and that acts of violence within 
ally State or States against the authority of the 



THE NEW PRESIDENT INAUGURATED. 149 

United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, 
according to circumstances. 

"I therefore consider tliat, in view of the Con- 
stitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken, and, 
to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the 
Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, 
that the laws of the Union shall be faithfully 
executed in all the States. Doing this, which 
I deem to be only a simple duty on my part, 
I shall perfectly perform it, so far as practicable, 
unless m}^ rightful masters, the American people, 
shall withold the requisition, or in some authori- 
tative manner direct the contrary. I trust this will 
not be regarded as a menace, but only as the 
declared purpose of the Union that it will constitii- 
tionall}^ defend and maintain itself. In doing this, 
there need be no bloodshed or violence, and there 
shall be none unless it is forced upon the national 
authority. * * * 

"That there are persons, in one section or an- 
other, who seek to destroy the Union at all events, 
and are glad of any pretext to do it, I will neither 
affirm nor deny. But if there be such, I need ad- 
dress no word to them. 

"To those, however, who really love the Union, 
may I not speak, before entering upon so grave a 
matter as the destruction of our national fabric, 
with all its benefits, its memories, and its hopes? 
Would it not be well to ascertain why we do it? 
Will 3'ou hazard so desperate a step, while any por- 
tion of the ills you fly from have no real existence? 
Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater 



160 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

than all the real ones you fly from? Will you risk 
the commission of so fearful a mistake? 

"If the minority will not acquiesce the majority 
must, or the Government must cease. There is no 
alternative for continuing the Government but ac- 
quiescence on the one side or the other. If a minor- 
ity in such a case will secede rather than acquiesce, 
they make a precedent which in turn will ruin and 
divide them, for a minority of their own will secede 
from them whenever a majority refuses to be con- 
trolled by such a minority. For instance, why not 
any portion of a new Confederacy^, a year or two 
hence, arbitrarily secede again, precisely as por- 
tions of the present Union now claim to secede 
from it? All who cherish disunion sentiments are 
now being educated to the exact temper of doing 
this. Is there such perfect identity of interests 
among the States to compose a new Union as to 
produce harmony onl}^, and prevent renewed seces- 
sion? Plainly, the central idea of secession is the 
essence of anarchy. * * » Physically speaking, 
we cannot separate — we cannot remove our respec- 
tive sections from each other, nor build an impas- 
sable wall between them. * * * They cannot 
but remain face to face; and intercourse, either 
amicable or hostile, must continue between them. 
Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more 
advantageous or more satisfactory after separation 
than before? Can aliens make treaties easier than 
friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faith- 
fully enforced between aliens than laws can among 



THE NEW PRESIDENT INAUGURATED. 151 

friends? Suppose you go to war, you cannot fight 
always; and when, after much loss on both sides, 
and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the iden- 
tical questions as to terms of intercourse are again 
upon you. * * * 

"The Chief Magistrate derives all his author- 
ity from the people, and they have conferred none 
upon him to fix the terms for the separation of the 
States. The people themselves, also, can do this if 
they choose, but the Executive, as such, has noth- 
ing to do with it. nis duty is to administer the 
present Government as it came to his hands, and 
to transmit it unimpaired by him to his successor. 
Why should there not be a patient confidence in 
the ultimate justice of the people? * * * if the 
Almighty Ruler of Nations, with his eternal truth 
and justice, be on your side of the North, or on 
yours of the South, that truth and that justice will 
surely prevail by the judgment of this great tribu- 
nal, the American people. * * * While the people 
retain their virtue and vigilance, no administra- 
tion, by any extreme wickedness or folly, can very 
seriously injure the Government in the short space 
of four years." 

He closed his address by speaking directly to 
those in rebellion against the Government, and 
said: 

"My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and 
well upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable 
can be lost by taking time. If there be an object 
to hurry any of you, in hot haste, to a step 
which you would never take deliberately, that ob- 



152 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

ject will be frustrated by taking time; but no good 
object can be frustrated b}'^ it. Such of you as are 
now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution un- 
impaired, and on the sensitive point, the laws of 
your own framing under it; while the new adminis- 
tration will have no immediate power, if it would, 
to change either. If it were admitted that you who 
are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, 
there is still no single reason for precipitate action. 
Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm 
reliance on Ilim who has never yet forsaken this 
favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the 
best way, all our present difficulties. 

"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow country- 
men, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of 
civil war. The Government will not assail you. You 
can have no conflict without being yourselves the 
aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven 
to destroy the Government, while I shall have the 
most solemn one to 'preserve, protect and defend 
it.' 

"I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but 
friends. We must not be enemies. Though p ission 
may have strained, it must not break our bonds of 
affection. The mj^stic chords of menior}^, stretch- 
ing from every battle field and patriot grave to 
every living heart and hearthstone, all over this 
broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, 
when again touched, as surely they will be, by the 
better angels of our nature."^'* 

^<For address in full, see Harper's "Pictorial History of the Great 
Rebellion," p. 47. 



THE BLACK CLOUD OF REBELLION. 153 

CHAPTER XL 

THE BLACK CLOUD OP REBELLION. 

This address made a profound impression on 
the people, and its influence was such that it 
seemed as though the black cloud of rebellion 
might pass away. But Lincoln's noble words were 
not heeded. The leaders of the South were imper- 
vious to reason. They were in bondage to a wrong 
condition — a bondage worse than chattel slavery. 
In fact, slavery injured the slaveholder more than 
the slave, for he who deprives another of his lib- 
erty violates law, and law always punishes its vio- 
lation. I do not speak of human law, but of the 
"higher law." That law scourges the master and 
lets the slave go free. The law of nature says all 
men are born free; and, therefore, no one can be 
made a slave except by coercion — not by right. The 
Creator did not give man dominion over man; only 
over such things as the fishes of the sea, the fowls 
of the air, and the beasts of the field. 

The leaders of the South by reason of being in 
bondage to that wrong condition were in such a 
state of mind that they were willing to wage war 
against the Government, although hj so doing they 
might render themselves liable to the penalty not 
only of human law, but to that of the higher law, 
which says, "Woe unto the world because of of- 
fences, for it must needs be that offences come; but 
woe to that man by whom the offence cometh." 

In consequence of the President's words it re- 



154 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

quired the efforts of their most fiery orators to re- 
kindle the flame of secession. 

Virginia, old Virginia — the birthplace, home, 
and final resting place of the immortal Washing- 
ton — hesitating to leave the Union and join the 
Confederacy, one of the leaders of the rebellion — 
Roger A. Pryor of Virginia — delivered a speech 
on the 10th day of April at Charleston, South Car- 
olina,^^ in response to a serenade, saying: "Gentle- 
men, I thank you, especially that you have at last 
annihilated this accursed Union, reeking with cor- 
ruption and insolent with excess of tyranny. 
Thank God, it is at last blasted and riven by the 
lightning wrath of an outraged and indignant peo- 
ple. Not only is it gone, but gone forever. * * * 
For my part, gentlemen, if Abraham Lincoln and 
Hannibal Hamlin to-morrow were to abdicate their 
offices and were to give me a blank sheet of paper 
to write the conditions of reannexation to the de- 
funct Union, I would scornfully spurn the over- 
ture. * * * 

"I invoke you, in your demonstrations of popu- 
lar opinion, in your exhibitions of official intent, 
to give no countenance to this idea of reconstruc- 
tion. * * * I pray j^ou, gentlemen, rob them 
of that idea. Proclaim to the world that upon no 
condition, and under no circumstance, will South 
Carolina ever again enter into j)olitical associa- 
tion with the Abolitionists of New England. 

"Do not distrust Virginia. As sure as to-mor- 



isA secession convention was then in session in Virginia, in 
which the Unionists were holding the secessionists in check. 



THE BLACK CLOUD OF REBELLION. 155 

row's Sim will rise upon us, just so sure will Vir- 
ginia be a member of this Southern Confederation, 
And I will tell you, gentlemen, what will put her 
in the Southern Confederation in less than an hour 
b}^ Shrewsbury clock — strike a blow! The very 
moment that blood is shed, old Virginia will make 
common cause with her sisters of the South. It is 
impossible she should do otherwise." 

On the next day, April 11, the President of the 
Southern Confederacy, some of his Cabinet, and 
other gentlemen, were discussing in the office of 
General Walker, Secretary of War, the advisabil- 
ity of immediately opening fire on Fort Sumter. 
The Secretary of War seemed to be opposed to 
the proposition, when a prominent gentleman of 
Alabama, who was present, said: "Sir, unless you 
sprinkle blood in the face of the people of Ala- 
bama they will be back in the old Union in less 
than ten days!" 

Robert Toombs of Georgia, Secretary of State, 
said to Mr. Davis that he thought it unwise to at- 
tack Fort Sumter. "The firing upon that fort," 
said he, "will inaugurate a civil war greater than 
any the world has yet seen. * * * You will wan- 
tonly strike a hornet's nest, which extends from 
mountains to ocean, and legions now quiet will 
swarm out and sting us to death. It is unneces- 
sary; it puts us in the wrong; it is fatal."^" 

The order was given, however, and, in this state 
of mind, the leaders crossed the Rubicon of rebel- 
lion, and struck the blow. 

B«Stovairs "Life of Toombs," p. 226, 



156 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Old Virginia now went out of the Union, joined 
the Confederacy, became the great battle field of 
the South, and reaped the bitter fruit of rebellion. 



CHAPTER XII. 

FORT SUMTER. 

Early in the morning of April 12, 1861, Treason 
fired its first shot on Fort Sumter.^'^ That shot was 
the challenge to the final conflict between the two 
civilizations. The world never beheld a more mo- 
mentous issue — one in which so much to human- 
ity was at stake. It was the beginning of a war 
between civilizations — a war between right and 
wrong. 

When Freedom accepted that challenge. Trea- 
son attempted to justify its conduct to the world 
through Jefferson Davis, President of the South- 
ern Confederacy. In an elaborate message to the 
Confederate Congress, at Montgomery, Alabama, 
on April 29, he set forth to the world their rea- 
sons for the steps which had been taken. 

"The declaration of war," he said, "made 
against this Confederacy by Abraham Lincoln, 
President of the United States, in his proclamation, 
issued on the 15th day of the present month,^^ ren- 

s^A fort belonging- to the United States in Charleston harbor, 
South Carolina. 

^^This proclamation was issued by President Lincoln April 15th, 
1861, after the firing on Fort Sumter by the rebels. In that proc- 
lamation the President called for 75,000 volunteer soldiers for tlie 
purpose of aiding to suppress unlawful "combinations" of persons, 
in the States in rebellion against the government of the United 



FORT SUMTER. 157 

ders it necessary, in my Judgment, that you should 
convene at the earliest practicable moment to de- 
vise the measures necessary for the defense of the 
country. The occasion is, indeed, an extraordinary 
one. It justifies me in giving a brief review of the 
relations heretofore existing between us and the 
States which now unite in warfare against us, and 
a succinct statement of the events which have 
resulted, to the end that mankind may pass in- 
telligent and impartial judgment on our motives 
and objects." 

After reviewing the slavery question from the 
beginning of the Government of the United States, 
the right of a State to secede, and other matters, 
he said, in justification of their acts: 

"Finally, a great party was organized for the 
purpose of obtaining the administration of the 
Government, with the avowed object of using its 
power for the total exclusion of the slave States 
from all participation in the benefits of the public 
domain acquired by all the States in common, 
whether by conquest or purchase, surrounding 
them entirely by States in which slavery should be 
prohibited, thus rendering the property in slaves 
so insecure as to be comparatively^ worthless, and 
thereby annihilating in effect property worth thou- 



.States, "and to cause the laws to be duly executed." And he com- 
manded the persons composing said combinations "to disperse and 
retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty days from 
this date." The President also ordered an extra session of Con- 
press to convene on the 4th day of July, "to consider and dej:ermine 
such measures, as in their wisdom, the public safety and "interest 
may seem to demand." The President appealed "to all loyal citizens 
to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the 
integrity, and existence of our national Union, and the perpetuity 
nf popular government, and to redress wrongs already long enough 
endured." 



158 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORV. 

sands of millions of dollars. This party, thus or- 
ganized, succeeded in the month of November last 
in the election of its candidate for the Presidency 
of the United States. 

"In the meantime, under the mild and genial 
cliinate of the Southern States, and the increasing- 
care for the well-being and comfort of the laboring 
classes, dictated alike by interest and humanity, 
the African slaves had augmented in number from 
about six hundred thousand, at the date of the 
adoption of the constitutional compact, to upward 
of four millions. In a moral and social condition 
they had been elevated from brutal savages into 
docile, intelligent, and civilized agricultural labor- 
ers, and supplied not only with bodil}' comforts, 
but with careful religious instruction, under the 
supervision of a superior race. Their labor had 
been so directed as not only to allow a gradual and 
marked amelioration of their own condition, but 
to convert hundreds of thousands of square miles 
of the wilderness into cultivated lands covered 
with a prosperous people. Towns and cities had 
sprung into existence, and it rapidly increased in 
wealth and population under the social system of 
the South. The white population of the Southern 
slave-holding States had augmented from about 
1,250,000 at the date of the adoption of the Consti- 
tution to more than 8,500,000 in 1800, and the pro- 
ductions of the South in cotton, rice, sugar, and to- 
bacco, for the full development and continuance 
of which the labor of African slaves was and is 
indispensable, had swollen to an amount which 



fOkT SUMTER. 159 

formed nearly three-fourths of the export of the 
whole United States, and had become absolutely 
necessar}^ to the wants of civilized man. 

"With interests of such overwhelming magni- 
tude inii)eriled, the people of the Southern States 
were driven hj the conduct of the North to the 
adoption of some course of action to avoid the 

dangers with which they were openly menaced. 
« « * 

"We feel that our cause is just and holy. We 
protest solemnly, in the face of mankind, that we 
desire peace at any sacrifice save that of honor. 
* * * All we ask is to be let alone— that those 
who never held power over us shall not now at- 
tempt our subjugation by arms. This we will, we 
must resist, to the direst extremity. The moment 
this pretension is abandoned, the sword will drop 
from our grasp, and we shall be ready to enter 
into treaties of amity and commerce that cannot 
but be mutually beneficial. So long as this preten- 
sion is maintained, with a firm reliance on that 
Divine Power which covers with its protection the 
just cause, we will continue to struggle for our 
own inherent right to freedom, independence, and 
self-government."^^ 



^"For the message in full, see Harper's "Pictorial History of the 
Great Rebellion," p. 113. 



160 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

A WICKED REBELLION. 

In the previous chapter I have set forth the jus- 
tification of the chief of the rebellion. What a 
cold-blooded and selfish justification for rebelling 
and making war against his country! Indeed, 
such a justification could have emanated onl}'^ from 
one who had been long saturated with the virus 
of slavery. 

Mr. Davis rightly said, "The occasion is, indeed, 
an extraordinary one." For it would appear, from 
his message, that because "a great party was or- 
ganized for the purpose of obtaining the adminis- 
tration of the Government, with the avowed object 
of using its power for the total exclusion of the 
slave States from all participation in the benefits 
of the public domain;" and because "this party, 
thus organized, succeeded in the month of Novem- 
ber last in the election of its candidate for the 
presidency of the United States," therefore, the 
South was justified in its attempt to destroy the 
Republic. 

Is that a justification, even if all the statements 
of Mr. Davis were true? But it is not true that the 
new party, he speaks of, denied the slave States 
the right of "all participation in the benefits of the 
public domain," but only the right of extending 
slavery. Its doctrine was, that slavery must be 
confined to the States where it already existed. 
In other words, it believed that freedom should be 



A WICKED REBELLION. 161 

national, slavery local — confined to where it al- 
ready existed. 

For a complete answer to the attempted justi- 
fication of Mr. Davis in his message, the reader 
is referred to the words of Mr. Stephens, in his 
speech against secession. ^*^ In that speech he 
seems to have anticipated some snch justification 
as that made by Davis. In his closing paragraph 
he said: "Now, for you, to attempt to overthrow 
such a Government as this, under which we have 
lived for more than three-quarters of a century — • 
in which we have gained our wealth, our standing 
as a Nation, our domestic safety while the ele- 
ments of peril are around us, with peace and tran- 
quillity, accompanied with unbounded prosperity 
and rights unassailed — is the height of madness, 
folly, and wickedness." 

Mr. Davis, in his "Short History of the Confed- 
erate States of America,"*'^ says: "The common 
opinion in the Southern States was that the sep- 
aration would be final but peaceful. For my own 
part, while believing that secession was a right 
and properly a peaceful remedy, I had never be- 
lieved that it would be permitted to be peacefully 
exercised. I had predicted a long and desperate 
struggle, and advised preparations to be made 
therefor. Very few in the South agreed with me 

™For speech see p. 100, ante. 

"See page 59. Mr. Davis in that work says on page 84, "It is 
not my purpose in this volume to describe the battles of the war. 
* * * My sole object is to vindicate the rightful action of the 
Southern people in maintaining the sovereignty of their States 
against wrongful and unconstitutional usurpation of power by their 
common agent, the Federal Government, and to defend them from 
the aspersions of unscrupulous partisans who have maligned as 
rebels and traitors men true to their allegiance and defenders of 
the Constitution." 

11 



i&t A l^HILOSOPHICAI, HiSTORf , 

at that time, and my opinions were as unwelcome 
as they were unexpected." 

Thus, to promote a great wrong, this man, and 
others — especially this man — believing that seces- 
sion would cause "a long and desperate struggle," 
counseled that it be done; and ^'advised prepara- 
tions to be made" for that coming struggle. 

To obtain power they were willing to make war 
on the Government, and to sacrifice hundreds of 
thousands of lives and billions of treasure. 

In order to show in what light the slave-hold- 
ing aristocracy of the South viewed the people of 
the North and the cause, the real cause of the war, 
I give the statement of one of the leading editors 
of the South, published in 1802.«2 

"This has been called," he said, "a fratricidal 
war b}'^ some; by others an irrepressible conflict 
between freedom and slavery. We respectfully 
take issue with the authors of both these ideas. 
We are not the brothers of the Yankees, and the 
slavery question is merely the pretext, not the 
cause of the war. The true irrepressible conflict 
lies fundamentally in the hereditary hostility, the 
sacred animosity, the eternal antagonism between 
the two races engaged. 

"The Norman Cavalier cannot brook the vulgar 
familiarity of the Saxon Yankee, while the latter 
is continually devising some plan to bring down 
his aristocratic neighbor to his own detested level. 
Thus was the contest waged in the old United 
States.' So long as Dickinson doughfaces were to 



«2Harper's "Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion," p. 17. 



A WICKED REBELLION. 163 

be bought, and Cochrane cowardrj to be frightened, 
so long was the Union tolerable to Southern men; 
but when, owing to division in our own ranks, the 
Yankee hirelings placed one of their own spawn 
(Lincoln) oA^er us, political connection became un- 
endurable and separation necessary to preserve 
our self-respect. 

"As our Norman kinsman in England, always 
a minority, have ruled their Saxon countrymen in 
political vassalage up to the present day, so have 
we, the 'slave oligarchs,' governed the Yankees 
till within a twelve-month. We framed the Con- 
stitution, for seventy years moulded the polic}^ of 
the Government, and placed our own men, or 
'Northern men with Southern principles,' in power. 
On the 6th cf November, 1860, the Puritans eman- 
cipated themselves, and are now in violent insur- 
rection against their former owners. This insane 
holida}^ freak will not last long, however, for, das- 
tards in fight, and incapable of self-government, 
they will inevitably again fall under the control of 
the superior race." 

History bears out this statement as being the 
feeling of the aristocracy of the South towards 
the people of the North. They differed, however, 
among themselves as to the cause of their rebel- 
ling. 

No wonder Jefferson exclaimed in the begin- 
ning of the Nation, in regard to slavery: "I tremble 
for m}^ country when I reflect that God is just; that 
His justice cannot sleep forever. * * * The 
Almighty has no attribute which can take side 



164 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

with us in such a contest." Or that he uttered 
those other prophetic words: "We must wait with 
patience the workings of an overruling Providence, 
and hope that that is preparing the deliverance of 
these our brethren. When the measure of their 
tears shall be full, when their groans shall have 
involved heaven itself in darkness, doubtless a 
God of Justice will awaken to their distress. Noth- 
ing is more certainly written in the Book of Fate 
than that this people shall be free." 

Can there be found in all history a rebellion 
more wicked than this one? When the claimed 
cause, given by those in rebellion, is examined is 
it not found absolutely unjustifiable, instead of 
"just and holy," as characterized by Mr. Davis? 

In the language of another historian: "The aw- 
ful responsibility for shedding of blood, for car- 
nage, cruelty, suffering, distress, and the thousand 
evils attendant upon war, must rest upon the men 
who, without any just or reasonable cause, began 
the rebellion of 18G1, and persevered in it four 
weary, desolating years." What a fearful respon- 
sibility! But such is the verdict of unbiased his- 
tory. 

There is an attempt being made, however, in 
these days to pervert the truth of history and gloss 
over the acts of these men and the cause they rep- 
resented — to make them respectable instead of 
odious. But it should never be forgotten that there 
were but two great parties in those days — "patriots 
and traitors," as classified by Senator Stephen A. 



A WICKED REBELLION. 165 

Douglas.^3 One for the Union, the other against; 
one for the rights of man, the other against; one 
for the principle that all men are created equal, 
the other against; one for free men, the other 
against; one for free speech, the other against; one 
for free schools, the other against; one for free 
labor, the other against; one for the dignity of 
labor, the other for its degradation; one for liberty, 
the other against; one for country, the other 
against; one for the Republic established by the 
fathers, the other against; one for a civilization 
■ based on Freedom, the other for a civilization based 
on Slavery. 

It is the bounden duty of the historian to turn 
on the light, however unpleasant it may be to do 
so, that the truth may be seen; so that the genera- 
tions yet to come may be enabled to "pass intelli- 
gent and impartial judgment" on the "motives and 
objects" of those who originated and were engaged 
in promoting that rebellion. Shall we distort his- 
tory in order to smooth the pathway of those who 
have been engaged on the side of wrong? Is that 
the province of the historian? Rather should not 
the truth be told, as in the Scriptures, so that pos- 
terity may guard against a repetition of the wrong? 
Wrong may be forgiven, but history is inexorable. 

«5In his great speech at Chicago, in 1861, after the firing on Fort 
Sumter. 



166 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE CLOSING DRAMA. 



64 



When Abraham Lincoln uttered the words, 
"That is the real issue. It is the eternal struggle 
between these two principles — right and wrong — 
throughout the world," little did he think that in 
so short a time he would be at the head of the Na- 
tion, and that a gigantic rebellion would be going 
on to maintain the "wrong" of that issue, and to 
destroy that Nation and erect another with slavery 
as its chief corner-stone. But so it was. The su- 
preme test of republican institutions was at hand. 
War, grim war — civil war — was upon the Nation. 
Who could tell the result? If the Republic w^ent 
down there would be no hope for liberty and self- 
government for ages. 

W^ould the eloquent and prophetic words of 
Webster now be verified ? A few months before his 
death, in 1852, he said: "The world will cry out 
'Shame' upon us, if we show ourselves unworthy 
to be the descendants of those great and illustrious 
men, who fought for their liberty, and secured it 
to their posterity, by the Constitution of the United 
States. * * * 

"On Washington's principles, and under the 
guidance of his example, will we and our chil- 
dren uphold the Constitution. Under his military 
leadership our fathers conquered; and under the 
outspread banner of his x>olitical and constitu- 
tional principles will we also conquer. To that 

8*In his debate with Douglas, in 1858, 



THE CLOSING DRAMA. 167 

standard we shall adhere, and uphold it through 
evil and through good report. We will meet dan- 
ger, we will meet death, if they come, in its pro- 
tection; and we will struggle ou, in daylight and 
in darkness; ay, in the thickest darkness, with all 
the storms which it may bring with it, till 'Danger's 
troubled night is o'er, and the star of Peace re- 
turn.' " 

The world did not have an opportunity to cry 
out "Shame," for the President and the loyal people 
of the Nation, rose to the occasion. More than two 
million men were mustered against the hosts of 
Treason. For four long years the battle raged with 
fury. 

What a grand arm}^ was that! the volunteer 
army of the United States. It was composecTof 
men and beardless youths from all avocations of 
life. The farmer left his plow; the blacksmith 
dropped his hammer; the carpenter forsook his 
bench; the lawyer laid aside his brief, and the doc- 
tor quit his patient; the preacher left the sacred 
desk; young men went from the desk and counter, 
from the office, field and factor}^, from the shop, 
and all from the fireside of loved ones. "Good-b^x^" 
was said to friends most dear, and they went forth 
to do, and, if need be, die for their country. 

Battle after battle was fought, and the battle- 
fields were strewn with the slain and wounded; 
hospitals were filled with the wounded and suffer- 
ing; prison pens were filled with the captured, and 
many were tortured and starved to death. Hun- 
dreds of thousands went down to death that the 



168 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

Nation might live. They sacrificed home and its 
sweet memories, loved ones, and life, while in the 
full vigor of manhood. 

That was an army of intelligence, patriotism 
and courage. Of this there can be no question. Gen- 
eral Grant,^^ its great chieftain, the heroic man 
of the age, said of it in his report of the siege of 
Vicksburg: "It is a striking feature, so far as my 
observation goes, of the present volunteer army 
of the United States, that there is nothing which 
men are called upon to do, mechanical or profes- 
sional, that accomplished adepts cannot be found 
for the duty required in almost every regiment." 
And, again, he said, in his farewell address to the 
army, that its "marches, sieges, and battles, in dis- 
tance, duration, resolution, and brilliancy of re- 
sults, dims the luster of the world's past military 
achievements, and will be the patriot's precedent 
in defense of liberty and right, in all time to come." 

Its patriotism and courage were fully attested 
by the more than two thousand battles and skir- 
mishes which it fought, with a vigilant and cour- 
ageous foe on its own soil; by the long marches and 
untold privations it endured, by da}^ and by night, 
in a climate to which it was not inured; and, final- 



«=General U. S. Grant was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 
27, 1822. Graduated at United States Military Academy, 1843. Served 
in the Mexican War, and was promoted to captain, 1853. Resigned 
commission, 18.54, and afterward engaged in the tanning business at 
Galena, 111. Entered the Civil War as colonel Twenty-first lUinois 
Volunteers. Promoted to brigadier general, July, 1861, then to 
major general; then to lieutenant general, March, 18fi4. Received 
surrender of Gen. Robt. E. Lee of the Confederate army, at Appo- 
mattox. April 9, 1865. Commissioned general, a grade created for 
him, by Congress, July 25, 1S66. Elected President of the United 
States. 1868. 1872. Died, July 23, 1885. General Grant's services to 
ttie Republic were of inestimable value: and he will go down in 
history as one of the .greatest military chieftains of the world. 



THE CLOSING DRAMA. 169 

I3', b}' the great victory it achieved for the right, 
and then quietly dispersed to their homes and 
again entered upon the peaceful pursuits of good 
citizens of a saved Republic, without having im- 
posed conditions upon its enemy other than that of 
becoming loyal citizens of the Union. 

One reason for its strong i)atriotism and cour- 
age is that it did not fight for conquest — as a 
Caesar or an Alexander — but for liberty, and coun- 
try. It fought to maintain that civilization which 
it is hoped will become the civilization of the 
world. 

By the heroic efforts of that army that civiliza- 
tion, whose germ was planted in Virginia, surren- 
dered at Appomattox to that civilization whose 
germ was planted on the rocky shores of Massa- 
chusetts, and a new civilization w^as born with free- 
dom to all as its chief corner-stone. Then, universal 
freedom was made the supreme law of the land. 

While millions were rejoicing over the great 
victory of "right" over "wrong," and while peace — 
blessed peace! — was dawning upon a stricken 
land, the President — our beloved Lincoln — was 
struck down by an assassin, and joy was turned into 
mourning. "With malice towards none, with char- 
ity for all," his great soul took its departure; and 
Libert}^, in all lands, mourned his death. 

"Chieftain, farewell! The Nation mourns thee. 
Mothers shall teach thy name to their lisping chil- 
dren. The youth of our land shall emulate thy vir- 
tues. Statesmen shall study thy record and learn 
lessons of wisdom. Mute though thy lips be, jet 



170 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

they still speak. Hushed is thy voice, but its 
echoes of liberty'' are ringing through the world, 
and the sons of bondage listen with joy. Prisoned 
thou art in death, and yet thou art marching 
abroad, and chains and manacles are bursting at 
thy touch. Thou didst fall not for thyself. The 
assassin had no hate for thee. Our hearts were 
aimed at, our national life was sought. We crown 
thee as our martyr, and humanity enthrones thee 
as her triumphant son. Hero, martyr, friend, fare- 
well!"«6 

The corner-stone of National Independence has 
now long been in its place; and on it is inscribed 
the name of George Washington. 

The Union soldier placed another stone by its 
side — the Declaration of Independence, with all 
its promises fulfilled. On this stone Liberty in- 
scribes the name of Abraham Lincoln. 

^Closing- paragraph of Bishop Simpson's oration, delivered at 
the funeral of President Lincoln, Oak Ridge Cemetery, near Spring- 
field. 111., May 4, 1865. 



BOOK II. 

Landmarks of the Formative 
Period of the Republic. 



BOOK II. 
CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

What may be called the actual formative pe- 
riod of the Republic, and the Uuiou of the United 
States of America, extended over a period of about 
fifteen years, beginning with the first Continental 
Congress, in September, 1774, and ending with the 
adoption of the Constitution by the people in 
1787-88. 

During that time the Government of the Union 
passed tlirugh three stages or forms: 1. The Rev- 
olutionary. 2. The Confederate. 3. The Consti- 
tutional. But ^hile the Revolutionary and Con- 
federate periods have passed away, the Constitu- 
tional still exists; and will continue to exist until 
the people shall see fit to change the Constitution, 
and the government under it, to some other form. 

While the Revolutionary War was going on, 
and soon after the Declaration of Independence 
was promulgated, the Articles of Confederation 
were formed by the Continental Congress, and sent 
to the several States for their ratification; but they 
were not ratified by all until March 1, 1781, Mary- 
land being the last State to approve them. These 
articles were not to be binding on- any of the 
States until they should receive the approval of all. 

On the second day of March, 1781, Congress 
173 



174 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

assembled under the Confederation; and the Gov- 
ernment was carried on under these articles until 
the Constitution — which was the next step in the 
formation of the Republic — was adopted and went 
into effect. 

By an act of Congress the Government was to 
begin operations under the Constitution on the 
4th day of March, 1789. Congress assembled on 
that day, but Washington, the first President, was 
not inaugurated until the 30th da^^ of April. Since 
the Constitution went into effect it has been the 
fundamental and supreme law of the land — al~ 
though assailed by internal foes— together with 
the amendments, which have, from time to time, 
been adopted and become a part of it. 

These instruments, together with the Ordi- 
nance of 1787, which was adopted by the Con- 
gress in July, 1787, a short time prior to the forma- 
tion and adoption of the Constitution by the con- 
vention, which met at Philadelphia, are herein 
set forth, with sketches of the origin of each, 
for the convenience and benefit of those who may 
study the formation of our Republic. I have also 
appended an Index and Analysis of the Constitu- 
tion, as an aid to its study. 

The following suggestions are made to stu- 
dents of the Constitution: First, read the Constitu- 
tion carefully. Next, study the Index and An- 
alysis thoroughly. And lastly, go over both again 
and again, and again, until its contents are as fa- 
miliar as the Ten Commandments. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 175 

CHAPTER 11. 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



SKETCH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE DECLARATION— TEXT OF 
THE DECLARATION. 

The first Continental or General Congress of 
the Colonies met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, 
September 5, 1774. In it were forty-four dele- 
gates, representing eleven of the thirteen colonies. 
Later, eleven more delegates took their seats, and 
all of the colonies were then represented except 
Georgia, w^hich promised to concur with "her sis- 
ter colonies" in their effort to maintain their rights 
as English subjects. Peyton Randolph, of Vir- 
ginia, was elected President of the Congress. 
Many distinguished men were delegates. Among 
the number were Washington, Richard Henry Lee, 
Patrick Heniy, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John 
Dickinson, William Livingston, John Jay, Roger 
Sherman, and the Rutledges of South Carolina. 

On the 14th of October the Congress adopted a 
Declaration of Colonial Rights, and on the 26th a 
Petition to the King,^ asking the redress of their 
wrongs, was also adopted. 

The second Continental Congress met in Phil- 
adelphia, in the State House (Independence Hall), 
May 10, 1775, a few days after the battles of Lex- 
ington and Concord. This time Georgia was repre- 
sented along with all the rest of the colonies. A 
second Petition to the King was formulated and 

^George III. 



176 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

adopted, and Washington was appointed com- 
mander-in-chief of the Continental army, though 
Congress still denied any intention of separating 
from Great Britain and earnestly expressed a de- 
sire for the peaceful settlement of all difficulties.^ 

But the king, instead of taking notice of these 
petitions, and righting the wrongs of the 
colonists, declared the colonies in rebellion and 
sent more troops over to force them to submit to 
the many unjust and tyrannical measures imposed 
upon them. The colonists now began to realize 
that they must back down and become slaves to a 
tyrant or fight for their rights as free men. They 
at once determined on the latter course. 

Patrick Henry said: "We must fight! An ap- 
peal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is 
left us. I repeat it, sir, we must fight!" Washing- 
ton declared that, "nothing short of Independence, 
it appears to me, can possibly do." The Sons of 
Liberty echoed this sentiment until the Congress 
finally became possessed with the idea that "noth- 
ing short of Independence" would do. The idea 
of a separation from the mother country began to 
dawn upon them as the only thing they could do 
to promote their welfare and happiness as a 
people. 

This idea took shape in 1776. On the 7th of 
June of that year Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, 

^It was of this Congress, and of these their doings, that Lord 
Chatham said: "For genuine sagacity, for singular moderation, for 
solid wisdom, manly spirit, suljlime sentiments, and simplicity of 
language, for everything respectable and honorable, the Congress 
of Philadelphia shine unrivalled. This wise people speak out. They 
do not hold the language of slaves; they tell you what they mean. 
They do not ask you to repeal your laws as a favor; they claim it 
as a right." 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 177 

arose iu his place in the Congress and moved, 
"That these United Coh^nies are, and, of right, 
ought to be, free and independent States; and that 
all political connection between them and the 
State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally 
suppressed/'^ John Adams, of Massachusetts, sec- 
onded the motion. Upon this resolution there 
sprang up at once, after it had been referred to a 
committee of the whole, an earnest and powerful 
debate. It was opposed by some, principally on 
the ground that it was premature. If passed they 
felt that reconciliation would be no longer pos- 
sible. It meant that the colonies must establish 
their full and final sovereignty or be conquered 
and enslaved; that thenceforward there could be 
no retreat. 

The resolution was debated until the 10th, 
when it was adopted in committee. On the same 
day a committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, 
John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, 
and Robert R. Livingston, was ai)pointed and in- 
structed to prepare a formal declaration "that 
these United Colonies are, and of right ought to 
be, free and independent States; that they are ab- 
solved from all allegiance to the British crown; 
and that all political connection between them and 
the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, dis- 
solved." At the same time Lee's resolution was 
postponed until the 1st of July, to give time for 



''On the lOUi of May, Congress had, by resolution, recommended 
the establishment of independent Stale governments in all the col- 
onies. This, however, was not sufficiently national to suit the 
bolder and wiser members of that body, and many of the people 
at large. Lee's resolution more fully expressed the popular will. 

12 



178 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

working up the idea of a total separation from 
the mother country. The postponement was im- 
mediately followed by proceedings in the colonies, 
in most of which the delegates in Congress were 
either instructed or authorized to yote for Inde- 
pendence. 

On the 28th of June the committee made their 
report and presented the Declaration which they 
had drawn up. The first or original draft 
was prepared by Thomas Jefferson, chairman of 
the committee, and but few alterations were made 
in it by the committee or by Congress. On the 2d 
of July Congress proceeded to the consideration 
of this great paper. The discussion of it lasted 
for nearly three days. It was so powerfully op- 
posed by some that Jefferson compared the oppo- 
sition to "the ceaseless action of gravity, weigh- 
ing upon us by night and by day." Its supporters, 
however, were the leading minds and urged its 
adoption with an ability and an eloquence only 
born of a desire and a determination to be free 
men. John Adams, Jefferson sa^^s, was "the Co- 
lossus in that debate," and "fought fearlessly for 
every word of it." 

Finally, on the 4th day of July, 1776, the paper, 
known as the Declaration of Independence, was 
agreed to, and the transaction is recorded as fol- 
lows in the journal for that day: 

Agreeably to the order of the day, the Con- 
gress resolved itself into a committee of the whole, 
to take into their further consideration the Decla- 
ration; and, after some time, the President re- 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 179 

Slimed the chair, and Mr. Harrison reported that 
the committee haA'e agreed to a declaration, which 
they desired him to report. The Declaration being 
read', was agreed to as follows: 

A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 

UNITED STATES OP AMERICA, IN CONGRESS 

ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it be- 
comes necessary for one people to dissolve the 
political bands which have connected them with 
another, and to assume, among the powers of the 
earth, the separate and equal station to which the 
laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, 
a decent respect to the opinions of mankind re- 
quires that they should declare the causes which 
impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident — that 
all men are created equal; that they are endowed 
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; 
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit 
of happiness. That, to secure these rights, govern- 
ments are instituted among men, deriving their 
just powers from the consent of the governed; that, 
whenever any form of government becomes de- 
structive of these ends, it is the right of the people 
to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new gov- 
ernment, lajdng its foundations on such princi- 
ples, and organizing its powers in such form, as 
to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety 
and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate 
that governments long established should not be 
changed for light and transient causes; and, ac- 
cordingly, all experience hath shown that man- 



180 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

kind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are 
siifferable, than to right themselves by abolishing 
the forms to which they are accustomed. But 
when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pur- 
suing invariably the same object, evinces a design 
to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is 
their right, it is their dut}^, to throw off such gov- 
ernment, and to provide new guards for their fu- 
ture security. Such has been the patient suffer- 
ance of these colonies, and such is nov\' the neces- 
sity which constrains them to alter their former 
systems of government. The history of the present 
King of Great Britain is a history of repeated 
injuries and usurpations, all having in direct ob- 
ject the establishment of an absolute tyranny over 
these States. To prove this, let facts be submit- 
ted to a candid world. 

1. He has refused his assent to laws the most 
wholesome and necessary for the public good. 

2. tie has forbidden his governors to pass 
laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless 
suspended in their operations till his assent should 
be obtained; and, Avhen so suspended, he has ut- 
terly neglected to attend to them. 

3. He has refused to pass other laws for the 
accommodation of large districts of people, unless 
those people would relinquish the right of repre- 
sentation in the Legislature — a right inestimable 
to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

4. ITe has culled together legislative bodies at 
places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from 
the repository of their public records, for the sole 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 181 

purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with 
his measures. 

5. He has dissolved representative houses re- 
peatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his in- 
vasions on the rights of the people. 

6. He has refused, for a long time after such 
dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby 
the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, 
have returned to the people at large for their exer- 
cise; the State remaining, in the meantime, ex- 
posed to all the dangers of invasions from without, 
and convulsions within. 

7. He has endeavored to prevent the popula- 
tion Of these States; for that purpose obstructing 
the laws for the naturalization of foreigners; re- 
fusing to pass others to encourage their migration 
hither, and raising the conditions of new appro- 
priations of lands. 

8. He has obstructed the administration of 
justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establish- 
ing judiciary powers. 

9. He has niade judges dependent on his will 
alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount 
and payment of their salaries. 

10. He has erected a multitude of new offices, 
and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our 
people and eat out their substance. 

11. He has kept among us in times of peace, 
standing armies, without the consent of our Legis- 
latures. 

12. He has affected to render the military in- 
dependent of, and superior to, the civil power. 



182 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

13. He has combined with others to subject 
us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitutions, 
and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his as- 
sent to their acts of pretended legislation. 

14. For quartering large bodies of armed 
troops among us. 

15. For protecting them, by a mock trial, from 
punishment for auj murders which they should 
commit on the inhabitants of these States. 

16. For cutting off our trade with all parts 
of the world. 

17. For imposing taxes on us without our 
consent. 

18. For depriving us, in many cases, of the 
benefits of a trial by jury. 

19. For transporting us beyond seas, to be 
tried for pretended offenses. 

20. For abolishing the free system of English 
laws in a neighboring province, establishing there- 
in an arbitrary government, and enlarging its 
boundaries, so as to render it at once an example 
and fit instrument for introducing the same abso- 
lute rule into these colonies. 

21. For taking away our charters, abolishing 
our most valuable laws, and altering, funda- 
mentally, the forms of our governments. 

22. For suspending our own Legislatures, and 
declaring themselves invested with power to legis- 
late for us in all cases whatsoever. 

23. He has abdicated government here, by de- 
claring us out of his protection, and waging war 
against us. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 183 

24. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our 
coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives 
of our people. 

25. He is at this time transporting large 
armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the 
works of death, desolation and tyranny, already 
begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy 
scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, 
and totally unworthy the head of a civilized na- 
tion. 

26. He has constrained our fellow citizens, 
taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms 
against their country, to become the executioners 
of their friends and brethren, or to fall them- 
selves by their hands. 

27. He has excited domestic insurrection 
among us, and has endeavored to bring on the in- 
habitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian 
savages, whose known rule of warfare is an un- 
distinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and 
conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have 
petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; 
our repeated petitions have been answered only by 
repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus 
marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is 
unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to 
our British brethren. We have warned them, 
from time to time, of attempts by their Legis- 
lature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction 
over us. We have reminded them of the circum- 



184 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

stances of our emigration and settlement here. 
V\e have appealed to their native justice and mag- 
nanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties 
of our common kindred to disavow these usurpa- 
tions, which would inevitably interrupt our con- 
nections and correspondence. They, too, have been 
deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. 
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity 
which denounces our separation, and hold them 
as we hold the rest of mankind — enemies in war; 
in peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the Unit- 
ed States of America in General Congress assem- 
bled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world 
for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name 
and by the authority of the good people of these 
colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these 
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, 
free and independent States; that they are ab- 
solved from all allegiance to the British crown, 
and that all political connection between them 
and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, 
totall}^ dissolved, and that, as free and independ- 
ent States, they have full jiower to levy war, con- 
clude peace, contract alliances, establish com- 
merce, and do all other acts and things which inde- 
pendent States mnj of right do. And for the 
support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance 
on the protection of Divine Providence, we mu- 
tually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, 
and our sacred honor. 

The foregoing Declaration was, by order of 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



185 



Congress, engrossed, and 
members : 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
JOSIAH BARTLBTT. 
WILLIAM WHIPPLE. . 
MATTHEW THORNTON. 

RHODE ISLAND. 
STEPHEN HOPKINS. 
WILLIAM ELLBRY. 

NEW YORK. 
WILLIAM FLOYD. 
PHILIP LIVINGSTON. 
FRANCIS LEWIS. 
LEWIS MORRIS. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 
SAMUEL ADAMS. 
JOHN ADAMS. 
ROBERT TREAT PAINE. 
ELBRIDGE GERRY. 

CONNECTICUT. 
ROGER SHERMAN. 
SAMUEL HUNTINGTON. 
WILLIAM WILLIAMS. 
OLIVER WOLCOTT. 

NEW JERSEY. 
RICHARD STOCKTON. 
JOHN WITHERSPOON. 
FRANCIS HOPKINSON. 
JOHN HART. 
ABRAHAM CLARK. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
ROBERT MORRIS. 
BENJAMIN RUSH. 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 
JOHN MORTON. 
GEORGE CLYMER. 
JAMES SMITH. 



signed by the following 

JOHN HANCOCK. 
PENNSYLVANIA. 
GEORGE TAYLOR. 
JAMES WILSON. 
GEORGE ROSS. 

DELAWARE. 
CAESAR RODNEY. 
GEORGE READ. 
THOMAS M'KEAN. 

MARYLAND. 
SAMUEL CHASE. 
WILLIAM PACA. 
THOMAS STONE. 
CHARLES CARROLL, 
of Carrollton. 

VIRGINIA. 
GEORGE WYTHE. 
RICHARD HENRY LEE. 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
BENJAMIN HARRISON. 
THOMAS NELSON, JUN. 
FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE. 
CARTER BRAXTON. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 
JOSEPH HEWES. 
JOHN PENN. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 
EDWARD RUTLEDGE. 
THOMAS HEYWARD, JUN. 
THOMAS LYNCH, JUN. 
ARTHUR MIDDLETON. 

GEORGIA. 
BUTTON GWINNETT. 
LYMAN HALL. 
GEORGE WALTON. 



Immediately after the Declaration was agreed 
to, the Congress passed the following resolution: 
"Resolved, That copies of the Declaration be sent 



186 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

to the several assemblies, conventions, and com- 
mittees or councils of safet}', and to the several 
commanding officers of the Continental troops; 
that it be proclaimed in each of the United States, 
and at the head of the army."^ 

This celebrated instrument, says an eminent 
American jurist,^ regarded as a legislative pro- 
ceeding, was the solemn enactment, by the repre- 
sentatives of all the colonies, of a complete disso- 
lution of their allegiance to the British crown. It 
severed the political connection between the peo- 
ple of this country and the people of England, and 
at once erected the different colonies into free and 
independent States. The body by which this step 
was taken constituted the actual government of 
the nation, at the time, and its members had been 
directly invested with competent legislative power 
to take it, and had also been specially instructed 
to do so. The consequences flowing from its adop- 
tion were, that the local allegiance of the inhabit- 
ants of each colony became transferred and due to 
the colony itself, or, as it was expressed by the 
Congress, became due to the laws of the colony, 
from which they derived protection;*^ that the i)eo- 
ple of the country became thenceforth the rightful 
sovereign of the countr}^; that they became united 
in a national capacity', as one people; that they 
could thereafter enter into treaties and contract 
alliances with foreign nations, could levy war and 
conclude peace, and do all other acts pertaining to 



^Journal Cong., Vol. I, p. 396. 

''Curtis, "Constitutional History of the United States," 

Mournal Cong., Vol. II, p. 216. 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 187 

the exercise of a national sovereignty; and, finally, 
that, in their national capacity, they became 
known and designated as the United States of 
America. This Declaration was the first national 
state paper in which these words were used as 
the style and title of the nation. In the enacting 
part of the instrument the Congress styled them- 
selves "the representatives of the United States of 
America in General Congress assembled;" and 
from that period the previously "United Colonies" 
have been known as a political community, both 
within their own borders and by the other nations 
of the world, by the title which they then as- 
sumed.'^ 



CHAPTER III. ■ 

THE ARTICLES OP CONFEDERATION. 

SKETCH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE ARTICLES— TEXT OF THE 
ARTICLES. 

The colonies having united to obtain their 
rights as English subjects, when by the Declara- 
tion of Independence they became "free and inde- 
pendent States," they saw^ the necessitj^ of contin- 
uing that union, in order to carry forward the work 
of independence to a completion by the agenc}^ of 
war, which, by the act of the king and ministry 
of England, was upon them. 

^The title of "The United States of America" was formally as- 
sumed in the Articles of Confederation, when they came to be 
adopted. But it was in use, without formal enactment, from the 
date of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, 



188 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

It was now that "state sovereignty," the bane 
of our national life, first manifested itself. The 
States were not oul}^ jealous of each other, but they 
were jealous of the formation of any outside or 
over-government, which should exercise jurisdic- 
tion and power over them for the good of all; and 
it became at once an ever-present cause of embar- 
rassment to the Continental Congress in carr3ing 
on the war, and in forming a general government 
and a union by a written constitution. 

At this time the idea of forming a strong na- 
tional government by the people of the United 
States in their sovereign capacity, as the rightful 
possessors of all political power, it would seem, 
had not entered the minds of the men of that day; 
or, at least, if it had, they did' not manifest it at 
this time. They looked only to the formation of a 
league or federal alliance between the thirteen 
independent and sovereign States in their cor- 
porate capacities. They had to be driven to the 
formation of a strong national government, b^^ the 
people, by an absolute necessity to preserve their 
existence as a nation, and to promote the welfare 
and happiness of the people, and secure the bless- 
ings of liberty to themselves and their posterity. 
Indeed, the building of the new Republic had to be 
gradually evolved, for there were no precedents to 
guide them in carrying out the principles of the 
Declaration of Independence. 

The Continental Congress, therefore, on June 
11, 177C), resolved that a committee should be ap- 
pointed to prepare, and properly digest, a form 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 189 

of confederation to be entered into by the several 
States. This committee consisted of one delegate 
from each State, and John Dickenson, of Penn- 
sylvania, was chosen its chairman.^ On the 12th 
of July the committee reported to Congress a draft 
of Articles of Confederation. From that time until 
the 20th of August daily debates were had upon 
the articles, when the report was laid aside, and 
was not again taken up for consideration until 
the 8th of April, 1777. In the meanwhile several 
of the States, in accordance with the recommenda- 
tion of the Congress, had adopted Constitutions, 
republican in form, for their respective govern- 
ment, and Congress was practically acknowledged 
the supreme head in all matters appertaining to 
the war then going on. It emitted bills of credit, 
or paper money, appointed foreign ministers, and 
opened negotiations with foreign governments. 
But the government thus carried on was revolu- 
tionary in its nature, and continued so until the 
Articles of Confederation were adopted by the 
State Legislatures of the several States. 

From the 8th of April until the 15th of Novem- 
ber following, the articles were debated two or 
three times a week and several amendments were 
made. As the confederation might be a perma- 
nent bond of union, says one, of course local in- 
terests were considered prospectively. If the 
union had been designed to be temporary, to meet 
the exigencies arising from the state of war in 

sTlie committee consisted of Messrs. Bartlett, Samuel Adams, 
Hopkins Sherman, R. R. Livingston, Dickenson, McKean, Stone, 
Nelson, Hewes, Edward Rutledge, and Gwinnett. 



190 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORlT. 

wliicli the States then were^ local questions could 
hardlj have had weight enough to have elicited 
debate; but such was not the case, and of course 
the wise men who were then in Congress looked 
beyond the present, and endeavored to act accord- 
ingly. 

From the 7th of October, 1777, until the 15th 
of November of that year, the debates upon the 
subject were almost daily, and the conflicting in- 
terests of the several States were strongly brought 
into view by the si)eakers. On the 15th day of 
November, 1777, the Articles of Confederation 
were adopted; and on the 17th Congress trans- 
mitted from Yorktown, where it was then in ses- 
sion, authenticated copies of the same to the Legis- 
latures of the several States for their ratification, 
accompanied by the following 

CIRCULAR LETTER: 

"Congress having agreed upon a plan of con- 
federacy for securing the freedom, sovereignty, and 
independence of the United States, authentic 
copies are now transmitted for the consideration 
of the respective Legislatures. 

"This business, equally' intricate and impor- 
tant, has in its progress been attended with un- 
common embarrassments and delay, which the 
most anxious solicitude and persevering diligence 
could not prevent. To form a permanent union, ac- 
commodated to the opinion and wishes of the dele- 
gates of so man}"- States differing in habits, pro- 
duce, commerce, and internal police, was found to 
be a work Tthich nothing but time and reflection. 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. l91 

conspiring with a disposition to conciliate, could 
mature and accomplish. 

"Hardly is it to be expected that any plan, in 
the variety of provisions essential to our union, 
should exactly correspond with the maxims and 
political views of every particular State. Let it be 
remarked that, after the most careful inquiry and 
the fullest information, this is proposed as the best 
which could be adapted to the circumstances of 
all, and as that alone which affords any tolerable 
prospect of general satisfaction. 

"Permit us, then, earnestly to recommend these 
articles to the immediate and dispassionate atten- 
tion of the legislatures of the respective States. 
Let them be candidly reviewed, under a sense of 
the difficulty of combining in one general system 
the various sentiments and interests of a continent 
divided into so manj^ sovereign and independent 
communities, under a conviction of the absolute 
necessity of uniting all our counsels and all our 
strength to maintain and defend our common lib- 
erties; let them be examined with a liberality be- 
coming brethren and fellow citizens surrounded 
by the same imminent dangers, contending for the 
same illustrious prize, and deeply interested in 
being forever bound and connected together by 
ties the most intimate and indissoluble; and, 
finally, let them be adjusted with the temper and 
magnanimity of wise and patriotic legislators 
who, while they are concerned for the prosperity 
of their own more immediate circle, are capable 
of rising superior to local attachments when they 



192 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

may be incompatible with the safety, happiness, 
and glory of the general confederacy. 

"We have reason to regret the time which has 
elapsed in preparing this plan for consideration; 
with additional solicitude we look forward to that 
which must be necessarily spent before it can be 
ratified. Every motive loudly calls upon us to 
hasten its conclusion. 

"More than any other consideration, it will 
confound our foreign enemies, defeat the flagitious 
practices of the disaffected, strengthen and con- 
firm our friends, support our public credit, re- 
store the value of our money, enable us to main- 
tain our fleets and armies, and add weight and 
respect to our counsels at home and to our treaties 
abroad. 

"In short, this salutary measure can no longer 
be deferred. It seems essential to our very exist- 
ence as a free people, and without it we may feel 
constrained to bid adieu to independence, to liberty 
and safety — blessings which, from the justice of 
our cause and the favor of our Almighty Creator 
visibly manifested in our protection, we have rea- 
son to expect, if, in an humble dependence on His 
divine providence, we strenuously exert the means 
which are, placed in our power. 

"To conclude, if the legislature of any State 
shall not be assembled, Congress recommend to 
the executive authority to convene it without de- 
lay; and to each respective legislature it is rec- 
ommended to invest its delegates with competent 
powers ultimately, in the name and behalf of the 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 193 

State, to subscribe Articles of Confederation and 
Perpetual Union of the United States; and to at- 
tend Congress for that purpose on or before the 
tenth da}' of March next." 

Notwithstanding this earnest and patriotic ap- 
peal of Congress to the thirteen States, recom- 
mending that they ratify the Articles of Confed- 
eration, at an early day, they were destined to 
remain unratified for several years. Much oppo- 
sition was made to them in all the States. Their 
ratification was commenced on the 9th of July, 
1778; but it was not completed until the 1st day 
of March, 1781. 

The principal reason for this long delay was 
the claim made by some of the States to the vast 
unoccupied western territory — extending to the 
Mississippi River. Their conflicting claims to this 
territory formed one of the chief obstacles to a gen- 
eral union of the States under the Articles of Con- 
federation. Those States, whose colonial charters 
gave them no claim to any part of this territory, 
insisted that the other States, which laid claims 
to it under their charters, should surrender their 
claims to the United States, for the use and bene- 
fit of all the States. Impoverished as the States 
then were, and overburdened with debts contracted 
for the general good of the whole, it was reason- 
ably claimed that this vacant territoiy, so un- 
equally distributed originalh^, ought to be made a 
common fund for defraying the expenses of the 
war.*' 



^Walker's "American Law." 
13 



194 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Seven States laid claim to an interest in this 
vacant territory. These were the States of Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia; four of 
these — New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and 
Virginia — claimed the territory Northwest of the 
Ohio Eiver to the Mississippi; Virginia claiming 
the greater portion of it. 

But so little was known of our topography 
when the grants were made to the different colo- 
nies — by Great Britain — that, besides being vague 
and often contradictory, some of them were highly 
extravagant in point of quantity. For example, 
the descriptive words in "the grant to Virginia, 
covered a tract four hundred miles in width, and 
extending in terms from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
cific Ocean. The grant to Connecticut was of a sim- 
ilar character, and the rest not greatly different. 
The consequence was that immediately after the 
Declaration of Independence, conflicting claims to 
territory were set up by the several States, which 
threatened to prevent the formation of a perma- 
nent union.^^ 

Maryland made a vigorous and special objec- 
tion to agreeing to the Articles until some provi- 
sion should be made for the cession of the western 
lands to the United States, for the benefit of all 
the States. Her legislature in the instructions to 
her delegates in Congress, refusing to ratify the 
Articles unless this was done, among other things, 
said: 



^''Walker's "American Law. 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 195 

"Although the pressure of immediate calami- 
ties, the dread of their continuance from the ap- 
pearance of disunion, and some other peculiar cir- 
cumstances, may have induced some States to ac- 
cede to the present Confederation, contrary to 
their own interests and judgments, it requires no 
great share of foresight to predict that, when those 
causes cease to operate, the States Avhich have 
thus acceded to the Confederation will consider it 
as no longer binding, and will eagerly embrace 
the first occasion of asserting their just rights, and 
securing their independence. Is it possible that 
those States who are ambitiously grasping at ter- 
ritories to which, in our judgment, they have not 
the least shadow of exclusive right, will use with 
greater moderation the increase of wealth and 
power derived from those territories, when 
acquired, than what they have displayed in their 
endeavors to acquire them? We think not. We 
are convinced the same spirit which hath prompt- 
ed them to insist on a claim so extravagant, so 
repugnant to every principle of justice, so incom- 
patible with the general welfare of all the States, 
will urge them on to add oppression to injustice. 
If they should not be incited by a superiority of 
wealth and strength to oppress by open force their 
less wealthy and less powerful neighbors, yet de- 
population, and consequently the impoverishment, 
of those States will necessarily follow, which, by 
an unfair construction of the Confederation, may 
be stripped of a common interest, and the common 
benefits derivable from the Western Country. Sup- 



196 A PHILOSOPHICAL HlSfORy. 

pose, for instance, Virginia indisputably possessed 
of the extensive and fertile country to which she 
has set up a claim, what would be the probable 
consequences to Maryland of such an undisturbed 
and undisputed possession? They cannot escape 
the least discerning. 

"Virginia, by selling on the most moderate 
terms a small proportion of the lands in question, 
would draw into her treasury vast sums of money; 
and in proportion to the sums arising from such 
sales would be enabled to lessen her taxes. Lands 
comparatively cheap, and taxes comparatively 
low, with the lands and taxes of an adjacent State, 
would quickly drain the State thus disadvantage- 
ously circumstanced of its most useful inhabitants; 
its wealth and its consequence in the scale of the 
confederated States would sink of course. A claim 
so injurious to more than one-half, if not the whole, 
of the United States, ought to be supported by the 
clearest evidence of the right. Yet what evidences 
of that right have been produced? What argu- 
ments alleged in support either of the evidences 
or the right? None that we have heard of deserv- 
ing a serious refutation. * * * 

"We are convinced, policy and justice require, 
that a country unsettled at the commencement of 
this war, claimed by the British crown, and ceded 
to it by the treaty of Paris, if wrested from the 
common enemy by the blood and treasure of the 
thirteen States, should be considered as a common 
property, subject to be parcelled out by Congress 
into free, convenient, and independent govern- 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 197 

ments, in such manner and at such times as the 
wisdom of that assembly shall hereafter direct. 

"Thus convinced, we should betray the trust 
reposed in us by our constituents, were we to au- 
thorize you to ratify, on their behalf, the Confedera- 
tion, unless it be further explained. We have cool- 
1}'^ and dispassionatel}^ considered the subject; we 
have weighed probable inconveniences and hard- 
ships against the sacrifice of just and essential 
rights; and do instruct you not to agree to the Con- 
federation, unless an article or articles be added 
thereto in conformity with our declaration. Should 
we succeed in obtaining such article or articles, 
then you are hereby fully empowered to accede to 
the Confederation. * * * 

"Also we desire and instruct you to move, at a 
proper time, that these instructions be read to Con- 
gress by their Secretary, and entered on the Jour- 
nals of Congress. 

"We have spoken with freedom, as became 
freemen ; and we sincerely wish that these our rep- 
resentations may make such an impression on that 
assembly as to induce them to make such addition 
to the Articles of Confederation as may bring about 
a permanent union." 

On the 21st of May, 1779, the delegates of Mary- 
land informed Congress that they have received 
instructions from their State legislature respect- 
ing the Articles of Confederation, which they are 
directed to lay before Congress, and have entered 
on their Journals. The instructions were read, and 



198 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

then referred to a coDimittee; subsequently the 
committee made its report to Congress. 

On the 6th day of September, 1780, Congress 
took into consideration tlie report of the commit- 
tee to whom were referred the instructions of the 
General Assembl}'' of Maryland to their delegates 
in Congress respecting the Articles of Confedera- 
tion, and the declaration therein referred to; the 
act of the legislature of New York on the same 
subject; and the remonstrance of the General As- 
sembly of Virginia, which report was agreed to, 
and is in the words following: 

"That, having duly considered the several mat- 
ters to them submitted, they conceive it unneces- 
sary to examine into the merits or policy of the 
instructions or declaration of the General Assem- 
bly of Maryland, or of the remonstrance of the 
General Assembly of Virginia, as they involve 
questions a discussion of which was declined, on 
mature consideration, when the Articles of Confed- 
eration were debated; nor, in the opinion of the 
committee, can such questions be now revived with 
any prospect of conciliation: That it appears more 
advisable to press upon these States which can 
remove the embarrassments respecting the West- 
ernCountrya liberal surrender of a portion of their 
territorial claims, since they cannot be preserved 
entire without endangering the stability of the 
general Confederacy; to remind them how indis- 
pensably necessary it is to establish the Federal 
Union on a fixed and permanent basis, and on prin- 
ciples acceptable to all its respective members; 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 199 

how essential to public credit and confidence, to 
the support of our army, to the vigor of our coun- 
cils, and success of our measures, to our tranquil- 
lity at home, our reputation abroad, to our very 
existence as a free, sovereign, and independent peo- 
ple; that we are fully persuaded the wisdom of the 
respective legislatures will lead them to a full and 
impartial consideration of a subject so interest- 
ing to the United States, and so necessary to the 
happy establishment of the Federal Union; that 
they are confirmed in these expectations by a view 
of the before-mentioned act of the legislature of 
New York, submitted to their consideration; that 
this act is expressl}^ calculated to accelerate the 
federal alliance, by removing, as far as depends 
on that State, the impediment arising from the 
Western Country, and for that purpose to yield up 
a portion of territorial claim for the general bene- 
fit. 

"Whereupon : Resolved, That copies of the sev- 
eral papers referred to the committee be trans- 
mitted, with a copy of the report, to the legisla- 
tures of the several States; and that it be earnestly 
recommended to these States who have claims to 
the Western Country to pass such laws, and give 
their delegates in Congress such powers, as may 
effectually remove the only obstacle to a final rati- 
fication of the Articles of Confederation; and that 
the legislature of Maryland be earnestly requested 
to authorize their delegates in Congress to sub- 
scribe the said articles." 

This patriotic appeal of Congress, and the ex- 



200 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

* 

ample of New York in authorizing a cession of her 
interest in the western lands, were not in vain. 
The other States imitated the example of New 
York, and, at successive intervals, ceded to the 
United States — with certain reservations b}^ some 
— all their claims to the Western Country.^^ 

Thus by the Revolution and these cessipns the 
United States derived their title to all that portion 
of the public domain north of Florida and east of 
the Mississippi River — a vast territory. It will be 
remembered that the public domain acquired by 
the United States subsequent to this, was obtained 
in a different manner; quite a large portion of it 
by purchase from foreign governments, and the 
remainder hj conquest. The most of these ac- 
quisitions were, the Louisiana purchase from 
France, in 1803; the Florida purchase from Spain, 
in 1819; the Mexican cession, in 1818, by conquest 
of Mexico; and the Alaska purchase from Russia, 
in 1867. 

The legislature of Maryland having received 
the appeal of Congress, in which she was earnestly 
requested to authorize her delegates in Congress 
to subscribe the Articles of Confederation, without 
waiting for the States to make cessions of their 
claims to the western territory, authorized, in Feb- 
ruary, 1781, her delegates in Congress to subscribe 

i^The Northwestern territory was ceded as follows: That of New 
York was made March 1st, 1781, under the authority of the Act of 
the Legislature of that State, of the 19th of February, 1780. That 
of Virginia was made March 1st, 1784, under the authority of an 
Act of the 20th of December, 1783. That of Massachusetts, on the 
19th of April, 1785, under the authority of the Acts of that State, 
of the 13th of November, 1784, and 17th of March, 1785; and that of 
Connecticut, on the 14th of September, 1786, under the authority of 
an Act of that State of May, 1786. See Kent's Commentaries, Vol, 
I, pp. 271-272 (Uth Ed.). 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 201 

and ratify the Articles of Confederation; declar- 
ing, however, in the same act, "that, by acceding 
to the said Confederation, this State doth not re- 
linquish, or intend to relinquish, any right or in- 
terest she hath with the other united or Confed- 
erated States to the back country; but claims the 
same as fully as was done by the legislature of this 
State in their declaration which stands entered 
on the Journals of Congress; this State relying on 
the justice of the several States hereafter, as to the 
said claim made by this State." Whereupon the 
Articles were signed and ratified by John Han- 
son and Daniel Carroll, her delegates, on the 1st 
day of March, 1781. The Articles of Confederation 
were now in full force and effect, and so continued 
until the 4th day of March, 1789, wdien the Consti- 
tution of the United States went into effect. 

It was well that Maryland insisted, with so 
much vigor and with such justness of right, that 
she would not ratify the Articles of Confederation 
unless some provision was made for the States 
claiming interests in the western territory for ced- 
ing their claims to the United States, f6r the bene- 
fit of all the States. For it is quite certain that 
her action and delay in ratifying the Articles, 
caused a cession of that territory to the United 
States, preserved the Union, and, as Virginia 
claimed a large portion of the North Western Ter- 
ritory, prevented slavery from being fastened on 
it, which it is probable would have been done had 
Virginia retained her interest therein. Thus the 
free States would have been hemmed in, and the 



202 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

cleTelopment of freedom prevented. But Provi- 
dence determined tbie course of events otherwise; 
and that Territory was dedicated to freedom. 

The following is the text of the 

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

To all to whom these presents shall come, 

We, the undersigned, delegates of the States 
affixed to our names, send greeting: 

Whereas the delegates of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled did, on the fif- 
teenth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven, 
and in the second year of the independence of 
America, agree to certain Articles of Confedera- 
tion and Perpetual Union between the States of 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary- 
land, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Georgia, in the words following, viz.: 

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union 
between the States of New Hampshire, Massachu- 
setts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
tions, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Article I. The style of this Confederacy shall 
be, "The United States of America." 

Article II. Each State retains its soA'ereignty, 
freedom, and independence, and every power, Juris- 
diction, and right, which is not by this Confedera- 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 203 

tion expressly delegated to the United States in 
Congress assembled. 

Article III. The said States hereby severally 
enter into a firm league of friendship with each 
other for their common defense, the security of 
their liberties, and their mutual and general wel- 
fare; binding themselves to assist each other 
against all force offered to, or attacks made upon 
them, or any of them, on account of religion, sov- 
ereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever. 

Article IV. The better to secure and perpetuate 
mutual friendship and intercourse among the peo- 
ple of the different States in this Union, the free 
inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vaga- 
bonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall 
be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free 
citizens in the several States; and the people of 
each State shall have free ingress and regress to 
and from any other State, and shall enjoy therein 
all the privileges of trade aud commerce, subject 
to the same duties, impositions, and restrictions, 
as the inhabitants thereof respectively: Provided, 
That such restrictions, shall not extend so far as to 
prevent the removal of property imported into any 
State to any other State, of which the owner is an 
inhabitant: Provided, also, That no imposition, 
duties, or restriction shall be laid by any State on 
the property of the United States or either of 
them. 

If any person guilty of or charged with treason, 
felony, or other high misdemeanor, in any State, 
shall tlee from justice, and be found in any of the 



204 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

United States, he shall, upon demand of the gov- 
ernor or executive power of the State from which 
he fled, be delivered up, and removed to the State 
having jurisdiction of his offense. 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of 
these States to the records, acts, and judicial pro- 
ceedings of the courts and magistrates of every 
other State. 

Article V. For the more convenient manage- 
ment of the general interests of the United States, 
delegates shall be annually appointed in such 
manner as the Legislature of each State shall di- 
rect, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in 
November, in every year, with a power reserved 
to each State to recall its delegates or any of them, 
at any time within the year, and to send others 
in their stead for the remainder of the year. 

No State shall be represented in Congress by 
less than two nor by more than seven members; 
and no person shall be capable of being a dele- 
gate for more than three years in any term of six 
years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be 
capable of holding any office under the United 
States, for which he, or another for his benefit, re- 
ceives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind. 

Each State shall maintain its own delegates 
in a meeting of the States, and while they act as 
members of the committee of these States. 

In determining questions in the United States 
in Congress assembled, each State shall have one 
vote. 

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 205 

not be impeached or questioned in any court or 
place out of Congress; and the members of Con- 
gress shall be protected in their persons from ar- 
rests and imprisonments during the time of their 
going to and from, and attendance on, Congress, 
except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 

Article YI. No State, without the consent of 
the United States in Congress assembled, shall 
send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, 
or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, 
or treaty with any King, prince, or state; nor shall 
any person holding any office of profit or trust un- 
der the United States, or any of them, accept of 
any present, emolument, office or title of any kind 
whatever from any King, prince, or foreign state; 
nor shall the United States in Congress assembled, 
or any of them, grant any title of nobility. 

No two or more States shall enter into any 
treaty, confederation, or alliance whatever be- 
tween them Avithout the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled, specifying accurate- 
ly the purposes for which the same is to be entered 
into, and how long it shall continue. 

No State shall lay any imposts or duties, which 
may interfere with any stipulations in treaties en- 
tered into by the United States in Congress as- 
sembled with an}^ King, prince, or state, in pur- 
suance of any treaties already proposed by Con- 
gress to the Courts of France and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of 
peace by any State, except such number only as 
shall be deemed necessary by the United States 



206 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

in Congress assembled, for the defense of such 
State, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be 
kept up by any State in time of peace, except such 
number only, as, in the judgment of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, shall be deemed re- 
quisite to garrison the forts necessary for the de- 
fense of such State; but every State shall always 
keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia, 
sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall pro- 
vide and constantly have ready for use, in public 
stores, a due number of field-pieces and tents, and 
a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp 
equipage. 

No State shall engage in any war without the 
consent of the United States in Congress assembled, 
unless such State be actually invaded by enemies, 
or shall have received certain advice of a resolu- 
tion being formed by some nation of Indians to in- 
vade such State, and the danger is so imminent 
as not to admit of a delay till the United States in 
Congress assembled can be consulted; nor shall 
any State grant commissions to any ships or ves- 
sels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, ex- 
cept it be after a declaration of war by the United 
States in Congress assembled; and then only 
against the kingdom or state, and tlie subjects 
thereof, against which war has been so declared, 
and under such regulations as shall be established 
by the United States in Congress assembled, un- 
less such State be infested by pirates, in which 
case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occa- 
sion, and kept so long as the danger shall con- 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 207 

tinue, or until the United States in Congress as- 
sembled shall determine otherwise. 

Article VII. When land forces are raised by 
any State for the common defense, all oflBicers of, 
or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed 
by the Legislature of each State respectively by 
whom such forces shall be raised, or in such man- 
ner as such State shall direct; and all vacancies 
shall be filled up by the State which first made the 
appointment. 

Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other 
expenses that shall be incurred for the common 
defense or general welfare and allowed by the 
United States in Congress assembled, shall be de- 
frayed out of a common treasury, which shall be 
supplied by the several States, in proportion to the 
value of all land within each State, granted to, or 
surveyed for, any person, as such land and the 
buildings and improvements thereon shall be esti- 
mated, according to such mode as the United 
States in Congress assembled shall, from time to 
time, direct and appoint. 

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be 
laid and levied by the authority and direction of 
the Legislatures of the several States, within the 
time agreed upon by the United States in Con- 
gress assembled. 

Article IX. The United States in Congress as- 
sembled shall have the sole and exclusive right 
and power of determining on peace and war, ex- 
cept in the cases mentioned in the sixth article; of 
sending and receiving embassadors; entering into 



208 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

treaties and alliances: Provided, That no treaty 
of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative 
power of the respective States shall be restrained 
from imposing such imposts and duties on foreign- 
ers as their own people are subjected to, or from 
prohibiting the exportation or importation of any 
species of goods or commodities whatsoever; of es- 
tablishing rules for deciding, in all cases, what 
captures on land or water shall be legal, and in 
what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces 
in the service of the United States, shall be divided 
or appropriated; of granting letters of marque and 
reprisal in times of peace; appointing courts for 
the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the 
high seas, and establishing courts for receiving and 
determining finally, appeals in all cases of cap- 
tures: Provided, That no member of Congress shall 
be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall 
also be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and 
differences now subsisting, or that hereafter may 
arise between two or more States concerning boun- 
dary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; 
which authority shall always be exercised in the 
manner following: Whenever the legislative or 
executive authority or lawful agent of au}'^ State 
in controversj'^ with another, shall i)resent a peti- 
tion to Congress, stating the matter in question^ 
and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be 
given by order of Congress to the legislative or 
executive authority of the other State in contro- 
versy, and a day assigned for the appearance of 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 209 

the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then 
be directed to appoint^ by joint consent, commis- 
sioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing 
and determining the matter in question; but if 
they cannot agree. Congress shall name three per- 
sons out of each of the United States, and from the 
list of such persons each party shall alternately 
strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the 
number shall be reduced to thirteen : and from that 
number not less than seven nor more than nine 
names, as Congress shall direct, shall, in the pres- 
ence of Congress, be drawn out by lot; and the 
persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any 
five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to 
hear and finally determine the controversy, so al- 
ways as a major part of the judges who shall hear 
the cause, shall agree in the determination; and 
if either party shall neglect to attend at the day 
appointed, without showing reasons which Con- 
gress shall judge sufficient, or, being present, shall 
refuse to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nomi- 
nate three persons out of each State, and the Sec- 
retary of Congress shall strike in behalf of such 
party absent or refusing; and the judgment and 
sentence of the court to be appointed in the man- 
ner before prescribed shall be final and conclusive; 
and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to 
the authority of such court or to appear or defend 
their claim or cause, the court shall, nevertheless, 
proceed to pronounce sentence or judgment, which 
shall, in like manner, be final and decisive; the 
judgment or sentence, and other proceedings, being 

14 



210 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

in either case transmitted to Congress, and lodged 
among the acts of Congress for the security of the 
parties concerned: Provided, That every commis- 
sioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an 
oath, to be administered by one of the judges of 
the supreme or superior court of the State, where 
the cause shall be tried, "well and truly to hear 
and determine the matter in question, according 
to the best of his judgment without favor, affec- 
tion, or hope of reward": Provided, also, That no 
State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit 
of the United States. 

All controversies concerning the private right 
of soil claimed under different grants of two or 
more States, whose jurisdictions, as they may re- 
spect such lands, and the States which passed 
such grants, are adjusted, the said grants or either 
of them being at the same time claimed to have 
originated antecedent to such settlement of juris- 
diction, shall, on the petition of either party to the 
Congress of the United States, be finally determ- 
ined, as near as may be, in the same manner as- is 
before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting 
territorial jurisdiction between different States. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall 
also have the sole and exclusive right and power 
of regulating the allov and value of coin struck 
by their own authority, or by that of the respective 
States; fixing the standard of weights and meas- 
ures throughout the United States; regulating the 
trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, 
not members of any of the States: Provided, That 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 211 

the legislative right of any State within its own 
limits, be not infringed or violated; establishing 
and regulating post-offices from one State to an- 
other, throughout all the United States, and exact- 
ing ^uch postage on the papers passing through 
the same, as may be requisite to defray the ex- 
penses of the said office; appointing all officers of 
the livnd forces in the service of the United States, 
e«cepting regimental officers; appointing all the 
officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all 
officers whateA'er in the service of the United 
States; making rules for the government and reg- 
ulation of the said land and naval forces, and di- 
recting their operations. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall 
have authority' to appoint a committee to sit in 
the recess of Congress, to be denominated "a Com- 
mittee of the States," and to consist of one dele- 
gate from each State, and to appoint such other 
committees and civil officers as may be necessary 
for managing the general affairs of the United 
States, under their direction; to appoint one of 
their number to preside; provided that no person 
be allowed to serve in the office of president more 
than one year in any term of three years; to ascer- 
tain the necessary sums of money to be raised for 
the service of the United States, and to appropriate 
and apply the same for defraying the public ex- 
penses ; to borrow money or emit bills on the credit 
of the United States, transmitting every half year 
to the respective States, an account of the sums 
of monev so borrowed or emitted; to build and 



212 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

equip a na\^; to agree upon the number of land 
forces, and to make requisitions from each State 
for its quota, in proportion to the number of white 
inhabitants in such State, which requisitions shall 
be binding; and thereupon the Legishiture of each 
State shall appoint the regimental otiicers, raise 
the men, and clothe, arm, and equip them in a 
soldier-like manner, at the expense of the United 
States; and the officers and men so clothed, armed, 
and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, 
and within the time agreed on by the United States 
in Congress assembled ; but if the United States in 
Congress assembled shall, on consideration of cir- 
cumstances, judge proper that any State should 
not raise men, or should raise a smaller number 
than its quota, and that any other State should 
raise a greater number of men than the (juota 
thereof, such extra number shall be raised, offi- 
cered, clothed, armed, and equipped in the same 
manner as the quota of each State, unless the Leg- 
islature of such State shall judge that such extra 
number cannot be safely spared out of the same; 
in which case they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, 
and equip as many of such extra number as they 
judge can be safely spared. And the officers and 
men so clothed, armed, and equipped shall march 
to the place appointed, and within the time agreed 
on by the United States in Congress assembled. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall 
never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque 
and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any 
treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 213 

the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and ex- 
penses necessary for the defense and wel- 
fare of the United States or any of 
them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money 
on the credit of the United States, nor ap- 
propriate money, nor agree npon the number of 
vessels of war to be built or purchased, or the num- 
ber of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint 
a commander-in-chief of the Army or Navy, unless 
nine States assent to the same; nor shall a ques- 
tion on any other point, except for adjouruing from 
day to day, be determined, unless by the votes of 
a majority of the United States in Congress as- 
sembled. 

The Congress of the United States shall have 
power to adjourn to any time within the year, and 
to any place within the United States, so that no 
period of adjournment be for a longer duration 
than the space of six months; and shall publish the 
Journal of their proceedings monthly, except such 
parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or mili- 
tary operations, as in their judgment require se- 
crecy; and the jeas and nays of the delegates of 
each State on any question, shall be entered on 
the Journal, when it is desired by any delegate; 
and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at his 
or their request, shall be furnished with a tran- 
script of the said Journal, except such parts as 
are above excepted, to lay before the Legislature 
of the several States. 

Article X. The Committee of the States, or any 
nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the 



214 



A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORV. 



recess of Congress, such of the powers of Congress 
as the United States in Congress assembled, by the 
consent of nine States, shall, from time to time, 
think expedient to vest them with : Provided, That 
no power be delegated to the said committee, for 
the exercise of which, by the Articles of Confedera- 
tion, the voice of nine States in the Congress of the 
United States assembled is requisite. 

Article XL Canada, acceding to this confed- 
eration, and joining in the measures of the United 
States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to, all 
the advantages of this Union; but no other colony 
shall be admitted into the same, unless such admis- 
sion be agreed to by nine States. 

Article XII. All bills of credit emitted, moneys 
borrowed, and debts contracted, by or under the 
authority of Congress, before the assembling of 
the United States, in pursuance of the present con- 
federation, shall be deemed and considered as a 
charge against the United States, for payment and 
satisfaction whereof the said United States and 
the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. 

Article Xltl. Every State shall abide by the 
determinations of the United States in Congress 
assembled, on all questions which by this confed- 
eration are submitted to them. And the articles 
of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by 
every State, and the union shall be perpetual; nor 
shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made 
in any of them, unless such alteration be agreed 
to in a Congress of the United States, and be after- 



THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 215 

wards confirmed by the Legislatures of every 
State. 

And whereas it has pleased the Great Gov- 
ernor of the World to incline the hearts of the 
Legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, 
to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the 
said articles of confederation and perpetual union: 
Know ye. That we, the undersigned delegates, by 
virtue of the power and authority to us given for 
that purpose, do, by these presents, in the name 
and in behalf of our respectiye constituents, fully 
and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of 
the said Articles of Confederation and Perpetual 
Union, and all and singular the matters and 
things therein contained. And we do further sol- 
emnly plight and engage the faith of our respective 
constituents, that they shall abide by the determ- 
inations of the United States, in Congress as- 
sembled, on all questions which, by the said con- 
federation, are submitted to them; and that the 
articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the 
States we respectively represent; and that the 
union shall be perpetual. 

In Witness Whereof we have hereunto set our 
hands, in Congress. Done at Philadelphia, in the 
State of Pennsylvania, the ninth day of July, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred 
and seventy-eight, and in the third year of the 
Independence of America. 

On the part and behalf of the State of New 
Hampshire. — Josiah Bartlett, John Wentworth, 
Jr., August 8, 1778. 



216 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Massa- 
chusetts Bay. — John Hancock, Samuel Adams, El- 
bridge Gerry, Francis Dana, James Lovell, Samuel 
Holten. 

On the part and in behalf of the State of Rhode 
Island and Providence Plantations. — William El- 
lery, Henry Marchant, John Collins. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Connec- 
ticut. — Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, Oli- 
ver Wolcott, Titus Hosmer, Andrew Adams. 

On the part and behalf of the State of New 
York. — Jas. Duane, Era. Lewis, Wm. Duer, Gouv. 
Morris. 

On the part and in behalf of the State of New 
Jersey. — Jno. Witherspoon, Nath. Scudder, Nov. 
26, 1778. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Penn- 
sylvania. — Robt. Morris, Daniel Roberdeau, Jona. 
Bayard Smith, William Clingan, Joseph Reed, July 
22(1, 1778. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Dela- 
ware. — Thos. McKean, Eeb. 13, 1779, John Dickin- 
son, May 5, 1779, Nicholas Van Dyke. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Mary- 
land. — John Hanson, March 1, 1781, Daniel Car- 
roll, March 1, 1781. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Virginia. 
— Richard Henry Lee, John Banister, Thomas Ad- 
ams, Jno. Harvie, Francis Lightfoot Lee. 

On the part and behalf of the State of North 
Carolina.^ — John Penn, July 21, 1778, Corns. Har- 
nett, Jno. Williams. 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 217 

On the part and behalf of the State of South 
Carolina. — Heniy Laurens, William Henry Dray- 
ton, Jno. Mathews, Richard Hutson, Thomas He}^- 
ward, Jr. 

On the part and behalf of the State of Georgia. 
—Jno. Walton, July 24, 1778, Edw. Telfair, Edw. 
Langworthy. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE ORDINANCE OP 1787. 



SKETCH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE ORDINANCE.— TEXT OF 
THE ORDINANCE. 

The United States acquired by the Revolution, 
and by cessions of New York, Connecticut, Massa- 
chusetts, and Virginia, all the vast unsettled ter- 
ritory North West of the River Ohio, bounded by 
the Great Lakes on the north and the Mississippi 
River on the west. It now became necessary, as 
emigration was moving westward and the people 
were desirous of settling in that territory, and of 
creating new States out of it, to make some provis- 
ion for the government of the same; and to pro- 
vide for the admission, into the Union, of the 
States which might be carved out of it. 

The Articles of Confederation did not give Con- 
gress power to provide for the government of ter- 
ritory acquired by the United States, nor for the 
admission of new States into the Union. Congress, 
however, out of the necessities of the case, assumed 
the right to legislate for the Northwestern Terri- 
tory in enacting a constitution for its government, 



218 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

and providing therein for the admission of States 
which might be organized out of the same. Their 
labors resulted in what is called the "Ordinance 
of 1787." 

This ordinance was an instrument of great 
value. It laid down principles so just and wise 
as to be accepted by future legislators as a model 
in the preliminary organization of all the other 
States admitted into the Union. 

History says, that some of its provisions formed 
part of a political compromise between the free 
and slave States of great importance. The intro- 
duction of slavery into Virginia, in 1620, proved 
fruitful of dangers and disasters to American lib- 
erty. Moral, social and industrial antagonisms 
gradually sprung out of it and threatened the peace 
and stability of the Union from its beginning. The 
instinctive foresight of danger, the causes of which 
they could not agree to banish altogether, led the 
founders of the Republic to compare interests and 
views and ascertain what settlement of them was 
possible. Collision, apparently, would be fatal; 
union was indispensable; therefore they made 
terms with each other, giving the territory north 
of the Ohio to the free labor system, and that south 
of the Ohio to the forced or slave labor system.^ ^ 
The situation immediately after the Revolution 
seemed too critical to allow a violent contest, and 
neither the principles nor the interests involved 
were sufficiently well developed at that time to 
impress those great men with the danger which a 

^=For some effects of the compromise, see Chap. IV. of Part I, 
Book I. 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 219 

compromise might involve. Other dangers seemed 
to them more immediate. 

Each period of national history has its own 
measure of wisdom and foresight, its special ques- 
tions to settle, and its instinct of self-preservation. 
The compromises, with relation to slavery, involved 
in the Ordinance of 1787, and in the Constitution 
of the United States adopted about two months 
later by the Convention at Philadelphia, may be 
accepted, when all the circumstances and difficul- 
ties of that period are weighed, as a proof of the 
patriotic wisdom and moderation of the Fathers 
of the Republic.^^ 

The following is the full text of the 

ORDINANCE OF 1787. 

An Ordinance for the Government of the Ter- 
ritory of the United States Northwest of the Ohio 
River. (In Congress, July 13, 1787.) 

Be it ordained by the United States in Congress 
assembled. That the said Territory, for the pur- 
poses of temporary government, be one district; 
subject, however, to be divided into two districts, 
as future circumstances may, in the opinion of Con- 
gress, make it expedient. 

Be it ordained by the authority afore- 
said, That the estates both of resident and 
non-resident proprietors in the said Territory, 
dying intestate, shall descend to and be dis- 
tributed among their children, and the de- 
scendants of a deceased child, in equal parts; 



"Walker's "The Mississippi Valley." 



220 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

the descendants of a deceased child or grandchiht 
to take the share of their deceased parent in equal 
parts among them; and where there shall be no 
children or descendants, then in equal parts to the 
next of kin, in equal degree; and among collater- 
als, the children of a deceased brother or sister 
of the intestate shall have, in equal parts among 
them, their deceased parents' share; and there 
shall, in no case, be a distinction between kindred 
of the whole and half blood; saving in all cases to 
the widow of the intestate, her third part of the 
real estate for life, and one-third part of the per- 
sonal estate; and this law relative to descents and 
dower shall remain in full force until altered by 
the Legislature of the district. And until the gov- 
ernor and judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter 
mentioned, estates in the said Territory may be 
devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed 
and sealed by him or her, in whom the estate may 
be, (being of full age,) and attested by three wit- 
nesses; and real estates may be conveyed by lease 
and release, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed, and 
delivered by the person, being of full age, in whom 
the estate may be and attested by two witnesses, 
provided such wills be duly proved, and such con- 
veyances be acknowledged, or the execution there- 
of duly proved and be recorded within one year, 
after proper magistrates, courts, and registers 
shall be appointed for that purpose; and personal 
property may be transferred by delivery, saving, 
however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants, 
and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, Saint Vin- 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 221 

cent's, and the neighboring villages, who have here- 
tofore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, 
their laws and customs now in force among them, 
relative to the descent and conveyance of prop- 
erty. 

Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid. That 
there shall be appointed, from time to time, by Con- 
gress, a governor, whose commission shall con- 
tinue in force for the term of three years, unless 
sooner revoked by Congress; he shall reside in the 
district, and have a freehold estate therein, in one 
thousand acres of land, while in the exercise of his 
office. 

There shall be appointed, from time to time, by 
Congress, a secretary, whosQ commission shall con- 
tinue in force for four years, unless sooner re- 
voked; he shall reside in the district, and have a 
freehold estate therein, in five hundred acres of 
land, while in the exercise of his office; it shall be 
his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws 
passed by the Legislature, and the public records 
of the district, and the proceedings of the governor 
in his executive department; and transmit authen- 
tic copies of such acts and proceedings every six 
months to the secretary of Congress. There shall 
also be appointed a court, to consist of three 
judges, any two of whom to form a court, who 
shall have a common law jurisdiction, and reside 
in the district, and have each therein a freehold 
estate, in five hundred acres of land, while in the 
exercise of their offices, and their commissions shall 
continue in force during good behavior. 



222 A PHILOSOPrtlCAL HISTORV. 

The governor and judges, or a majority of them, 
shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of 
the original States, criminal and civil, as may be 
necessary, and best suited to the circumstances of 
the district, and report them to Congress, from time 
to time, which laws shall be in force in the district 
until the organization of the general assembly 
therein, unless disapproved of by Congress; but 
afterwards the Legislature shall have authority 
to alter them as they shall think fit. 

The governor for the time being shall be com- 
mander-in-chief of the militia; appoint and com- 
mission all officers in the same below the rank of 
general officers. All general officers shall be ap- 
pointed and commissioned by Congress. 

Previous to the organization of the General As- 
sembly, the governor shall appoint such magis- 
trates and other civil officers in each county or 
township as he shall find necessary for the preser- 
vation of the peace and good order in the same. 
After the General Assembly shall be organized, 
the powers and duties of magistrates and other 
civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the 
said assembly; but all magistrates and other civil 
officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall, dur- 
ing the continuance of this temporary governmeiit, 
be appointed by the governor. 

For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the 
laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all 
parts of the district, and for the execution of pro- 
cess, criminal and civil, the governor shall make 
proper divisions thereof; and he shall proceed from 



THE ORDINANCE OF ItSt. 223 

time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay 
out the parts of the district in which the Indian 
titles shall have been extinguished, into counties 
and townships, subject, however, to such altera- 
tions as may thereafter be made by the Legislature. 

So soon as there shall be five thousand free male 
inhabitants of full age in the district, upon giving 
proof thereof to the governor, they shall receive 
authority, with time and place, to elect representa- 
tives from their counties or townships, to represent 
them in the General Assembly: Provided, That 
for every five hundred free male inhabitants, there 
shall be one representative ; and so on, progressive- 
ly, with the number of free male inhabitants, shall 
the right of representation increase, until the num- 
ber of representatives shall amount to twenty-five; 
after which the number and proportion of represen- 
tatives shall be regulated by the Legislature: Pro- 
vided, That no person be eligible or qualified to 
act as a representative unless he shall have been 
a citizen of one of the United States three years, 
and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall 
have resided in the district three years; and in 
either case, shall likewise hold in his own right, in 
fee simple, two hundred acres of land within the 
same: Provided, also. That a freehold in fifty 
acres of land in the district, having been a citizen 
of one of the States, and being resident in the dis- 
trict, or the like freehold and two years' residence 
in the district, shall be necessary to qualify *a man 
as an elector of a representative. 

The representatives thus elected shall serve for 



224 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

the term of two years; and in case of the death of 
a representative, or removal from office, the gov- 
ernor shall issue a writ to the county or township 
for which he was a member to elect another in his 
stead, to serve for the residue of the term. 

The General Assembly, or Legislature, shall 
consist of the governor, legislative council, and a 
house of representatives. The legislative coun- 
cil shall consist of five members, to continue 
in oflice five years, unless sooner removed by Con- 
gress, any three of whom to be a quorum; and the 
members of the council shall be nominated and 
appointed in the following manner, to-wit: As 
soon as representatives shall be elected, the gov- 
ernor shall appoint a time and place for them to 
meet together, and when met, they shall nominate 
ten persons, residents in the district, and each pos- 
sessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, 
and return their names to Congress; five of whom 
Congress shall appoint and commission to serve 
as aforesaid; and whenever a vacancy shall hap- 
pen in the council, by death or removal from office, 
the house of representatives shall nominate two 
persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, 
and return their names to Congress; one of whom 
Congress shall appoint and commission for the resi- 
due of the term. And every five years, four months 
at least before the expiration of the time of service 
of the members of the council, the said house shall 
nominate ten persons, qualified as aforesaid, and 
return their names to Congress; five of whom Con- 
gress shall appoint and commission to serve as 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 225 

members of the council five years, unless sooner 
removed. And the governor, legislative council, 
and house of representatives, shall ha^-e authority 
to make laws in all cases for the good government 
of the district, not repugnant to the principles and 
articles in this ordinance established and declared, 
and all bills having passed b}' a majority in the 
house, and by a majorit}^ in the council, shall be 
referred to the governor for his assent; but no bill 
or legislative act whatever shall be of any force 
without his assent. The governor shall have power 
to convene, prorogue, and dissolve the General As- 
sembly when in his opinion it shall be expedient. 

The governor, judges, legislative council, secre- 
tary^, and such other officers as Congress shall ap- 
point in the district, shall take an oath or affirma- 
tion of fidelity and of office, the governor before the 
President of Congress, and all other officers before 
the governor. As soon as a Legislature shall be 
formed in the district, the council and house as- 
semble, in one room, shall have authority, by joint 
ballot, to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall 
have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating, 
but not of voting during this temporary govern- 
ment. 

And for extending the fundamental principles 
of civil and religious liberty, which form the basis 
whereon these republics, their laws and constitu- 
tions, are erected; to fix and establish those prin- 
ciples as the basis of all laws, constitutions, and 
governments, which forever hereafter shall be 
formed in the said Territory; to provide, also, for 

15 



226 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

the establishment of States, and permanent gov- 
erument therein, and for their admission to a share 
in the Federal conncils on an equal footing with 
the original States, at as early periods as may be 
consistent with the general interest: 

It is hereby ordained and declared, by the au- 
thority aforesaid, That the following articles 
shall be considered as articles of compact, 
betw^een the original States and the peo- 
ple and States in the said Territory, and forever 
remain unalterable, unless by common consent, to- 
wit: 

Article I. No person, demeaning himself in a 
peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be mo- 
lested on account of his mode of worship or relig- 
ious sentiments, in the said Territory. 

Article II. The inhabitants of the said Terri- 
tory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the 
writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury; of 
a proportionate representation of the people in the 
Legislature, and of judicial proceedings accord- 
ing to the course of the common law. All persons 
shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses, where 
the proof shall be evident or the presumption 
great. All fines shall be moderate; and no cruel 
or unusual punishments shall be inflicted. No man 
shall be deprived of his liberty or property but by 
the judgment of his peers, or the law of the laud; 
and should the public exigencies make it necessary 
for the common preservation to take any person's 
property, or to demand his particular services, full 
compensation shall be made for the same. And, 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 227 

in the just preservation of rights and property, it 
is understood and declared that no law ought ever 
to be made, or have force in the said Territory, that 
shall, in any manner whatever, interfere vrith, or 
affect, private contracts or engagements, bona fide 
and without fraud, previously formed. 

Article III. Religion, morality, and knowledge, 
being necessary to good government and the hap- 
piness of mankind, schools and the means of edii- 
cation shall forever be encouraged. The utmost 
good faith shall always be observed toward the In- 
dians; their lands and property shall never be 
taken from them without their consent; and in 
their propert^^, rights, and liberty they shall never 
be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and law- 
ful wars authorized by Congress; but laws foundel 
in justice and humanity shall, from time to time, 
be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, 
and for preserving peace and friendship with 
them. 

Article IV. The said Territory, and the States 
which may be formed therein, shall ever remain a 
part of this confederacy of the United States of 
America, subject to the Articles of Confederation, 
and to such alterations therein as shall be consti- 
tutionally made; and to all the acts and ordinances 
of the United States in Congress assembled, con- 
formable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in 
the Territory shall be subject to pay a part of the 
Federal debts, contracted or to be contracted, an<l 
a proportional part of the expenses of Government, 
to be apportioned on them by Congress, according 



228 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

to the same common rule and measure by which 
ap[)ortionmeuts thereof shall be made on the 
other States; and the taxes for paving their pro- 
portion shall be laid and levied by the authority 
and direction of Legislatures of the district or dis- 
tricts, or new States, as in the original States, 
within the time agreed upon by the United States 
in Congress assembled. The Legislatures of those 
districts, or new States shall never interfere with 
the primary disposal of the soil by the United 
States in Congress assembled, nor with any regula- 
tions Congress ma}^ find necessary for securing the 
title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No 
tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the 
United States; and in no case shall non-resident 
proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The 
navigable Avaters leading into the Mississippi and 
St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the 
same, shall be common highways, and forever free, 
as well to the inhabitants of the said Territory as 
to the citizens of the United States, and those of 
any other States that may be admitted into the 
confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty 
therefor. 

Article V. There shall be formed in the said 
Territory not less than three, nor more than five 
.States; and the boundaries of the States, as soon 
as Virginia shall alter her act of cession, and 
consent to the same, shall become fixed and estab- 
lished as follows, to-wit: The western State in 
the said territory shall be bounded by the Missis- 
sippi, the Ohio, and Wabash Rivers; a direct line 



THE ORDINANCE OF 1787. 229 

drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due 
north, to the territorial line between the United 
States and Canada; and b}^ the said territorial 
line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The 
middle States shall be bounded by the said direct 
line, the Wabash, from Post Vincents to the Ohio, 
by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north 
from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said ter- 
ritorial line, and b}' the said territorial line. The 
eastern State shall be bounded by the last men- 
tioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and 
the said territorial line: Provided, however, and it 
is further understood and declared, that the bound- 
aries of these three States shall be pubject so far 
to be altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find 
it expedient, they shall have authority to form one 
or two States in that part of the said Territory 
which lies north of an east and west line drawn 
through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake 
Michigan. And whenever any of the said States 
shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, 
such State shall be admitted, by its delegates, into 
the Congress of the United States, on an equal foot- 
ing with the original States in all respects what- 
ever; and shall be at liberty to form a permanent 
Constitution and State government: Provided, 
the constitution and government so to be formed 
shall be republican, and in conformity to the prin- 
ciples contained in these articles; and, so far as 
it can be consistent with the general interest of 
the confederacy, such admission shall be allowed 
at an earlier period, and when there may be a 



230 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

less number of free inhabitants in tlie State than 
sixty thousand. 

Article VI. There shall be neither slavery nor 
involuntary servitude in the said Territory, other- 
yvise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof 
the fjarty shall have been duly convicted: Pro- 
vided always, that any person escaping into the 
same, from whom labor or service is lawfully 
claimed in any one of the original States, such 
fugitive may be lawfully' reclaimed, and conveyed 
to the person claiming his or her labor or service 
as aforesaid. 

Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That 
the resolutions of the 23d of April, 1784, relative 
to the subject of this ordinance, be, and the same 
are hereby repealed and declared null and void. 

Done b}' the United States in Congress assem- 
bled the thirteenth day of July, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
seven, and of their sovereignty and independence 
the twelfth. 

CHARLES THOMPSON, Secretary. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 231 

CHAPTER Y. 

THE CONSTITUTIOr^I OF^ THE UNITED STATES. 

SKKTCH OF THE ORIGIN OF THE CONSTITUTION.-TEXT 
OF THE CONSTITUTION.— TEXT OF AMENDMENTS 
TO THE CONSTITUTION— CHRONOLOGY 
OF AMENDMENTS TO THE CON- 
STITUTION. 

From the time the colonies united, in Septem- 
ber, 1774, to obtain their rights under the British 
frown, until the Articles of Confederation went 
into effect, March 1, 1781, the government of the 
Union was only a revolutionary league. The gov- 
ernment of the Union under the Articles of Con- 
federation was one step forward in constitutional 
government. But not a long one, however, for it 
was so w^eak, owing to the manner of its forma- 
tion, that it can hardly be dignified with the name 
of a national government. It, however, answered 
a purpose. It demonstrated to the people of the 
United States that, "the political union of the 
people of the United States for certain limited pur- 
poses, as distinguished from a union of the States 
of which they are citizens," was an absolute neces- 
sity; and that only by a union of the people of all 
the States, which should combine a portion of 
their sovereign power in the hands of one directing 
l)Ower, and make them one people, could America 
ever hope to take a high place among the nations 
of the world. 

The government of the Confederation "intro- 
duced to men's minds the great ideas of national 
power and national sovereignty, as the agencies 



232 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

that were to work out the difficult results which 
no local power could accomplish; and, although 
these ideas were at first vague and indefinite, and 
made but a slow and difficult progress against 
influences and prejudices of a narrower kind, they 
were planted in the thoughts of men, to ripen into 
maturity and strength in the progress of future 
years."^* 

Alexander Hamilton, of New York, early saw 
the vital defects of the Confederation; and when 
an opportunity was presented he exerted all his 
genius and influence to remedy the defects by hav- 
ing a constitution enacted which should be based 
on the Declaration that, governments derive "their 
just powers from the consent of the governed; 
that, whenever stny form of government becomes 
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the 
people to alter or to abolisli it, and to institute 
a new government, laying its foundation on ^uch 
principles, and organizing its powers in such form, 
as to them shall seem most likel}^ to eifect their 
safety and happiness." 

The government of the Unitc^d States, under 
the Articles of Confederation, had no power to 
make uniform commercial regulations either as 
between the States or with foreign governments. 
Indeed, it had no power over commerce whatever. 
The result was a condition of chaos in the matter 
of th^ trade of the United States. It soon became 
apparent that without a uniform system in their 

"Curtis, Const. Hist, of U. S. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 233 

commercial regulations there would be no per- 
manent harmony, and trade would languish. 

Owing to the trade regulations between Vir- 
ginia and Maryland, it came about that the Legis- 
lature of Virginia, on January 21, 17SG, passed a 
resolution in these words: 

"Resolved, That Edmund Randolph, James 
Madison, Jr., Walter Jones, St. George Tucker, 
Meriweather Smith, David Ross, William Ronald, 
and George Mason, Esquires, be appointed com- 
missioners, who, or any five of whom, shall meet 
such commissioners as may be appointed by the 
other States in the Union, at a time and place to 
be agreed on, to take into consideration the trade 
of the United States; to examine the relative situa- 
tion and trade of the said States; to consider 
how far a uniform system in their commercial reg- 
ulations maj' be necessary to their common in- 
terest and their permanent harmony; and to re- 
port to the several States such an act relative to 
this great object as, when unanimously ratified by 
them, will enable the United States in Congress 
assembled effectually to provide for the same; that 
the said commissioners shall immediately transmit 
to the several States copies of the preceding reso- 
lution, with a circular letter respecting their con- 
currence therein, and proposing a time and place 
for the meeting aforesaid." 

It was now that the influence of Alexander 
Hamilton was exerted with all his genius for a 
better government, and a more perfect union, — for 
a radical change in the foundation principles of 



234 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

the national government. He succeeded in hav- 
ing the Legislature of his State, New York, appoint 
commissioners to attend the commercial conven- 
tion, recommended bv Virginia, and he was ap- 
pointed one of them. 

In the circular letter which transmitted the 
resolution of Virginia recommending the conven- 
tion to the several States, it was proposed that 
the convention meet in September, 178C, at xA.n- 
napolis, Maryland. The convention met at that 
place, in September of 178(5, but when Hamilton 
arrived he found there the representatives of five 
States only.^^ It is said that he came with the de- 
termination that the convention should lay before 
the country the whole subject of the condition of 
the United States, and the want of an efficient na- 
tional government. But the object of the meeting, 
as stated in the resolution of the Legislature of 
Virginia, was only to consider the means of estab- 
lishing a uniform s\stem of commercial regula- 
tions, and not the reform of the existing govern- 
ment of the Union. New Jersey alone, of the five 
States represented, had empowered her commis- 
sioners to consider of ''other important matters," 
besides commercial regulations. Four other States 
had appointed commissioners, none of whom at- 
tended the convention, and the four remaining 
States had made no appointment at all. 

With five States only represented, Hamilton 
waived his original purpose of a full exposition 
of the fundamental defects of the Confederation, 

"New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia, 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 235 

but he did uot deem it expedient that the conven- 
tion should adjourn without proposing some meas- 
ure that might lead to the necessary reforms. He, 
therefore, modified his original plan and laid be- 
fore the convention a report which proposed to the 
several States the calling of a General Convention, 
to take into consideration the situation of the 
United States. This report was agreed to by the 
Convention. 

It declared, among other things, that the reg- 
ulation of trade could not be effected alone, as the 
regulating of commerce would so far enter into 
the general system of the national or federal gov- 
ernment that it would require a change in the 
other parts of the system. That the system of 
the general government, under the Articles of Con- 
federation, was seriousl}^ defective; and that some 
mode by- which these defects could be peaceably 
supplied was imperatively demanded. A general 
convention of delegates from the several States, 
with the power of investigating the defects of the 
national government, seemed to be the best course 
to pursue to bring the matter before the Congress, 
and the country. 

It was, ind3ed, the only method by which Ham- 
ilton's object, in its entirety, could be reached in 
safety. ITis ultimate object had to be reached by 
indirect methods or it might fail. The Articles 
of Confederation had provided that no alteration 
should be made in any of the Articles, unless 
agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and 



236 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

confirmed by the legislature of every State.^^ To 
have left the matter to Congress would have de- 
feated the great reform which Hamilton contem- 
plated — the substitution of an entire different sys- 
tem of national government; for Congress were 
limited in their power under the Articles. At the 
same time it was necessar}' to have the co-opera- 
tion of the Congress in order to the success of the 
plan of a convention, that it might not appear to 
be revolutionary in its character, and for the sake 
of their influence with the States. Hence the cau- 
tion observed by Hamilton in his report. It did 
not suggest a convention to frame a new constitu- 
tion of national government, but "to devise such 
further jDrovisions as might appear to be necessary 
to render the constitution of the federal govern- 
ment adequate to the exigencies of the Union." 
It proposed* also, that whatever should be agreed 
on by the Convention should be reported to Con- 
gress, and, when agreed to by them, should be rat- 
ified by the legislatures of all the States. 

Hamilton, however, undoubtedly contemplated 
more than a revision of the Articles of Confedera- 
tion by this proposed convention. In 1780 he had 
analyzed the defects of the Articles, and sketched 
the outline of a constitution for a strong national 
government; and, also, suggested the calling of a 
convention to frame such a system.^^ The idea of 
such a convention had been entertained, by many 
persons, before the meeting at Annapolis. 

"See Article XIII. 

I'See his letter to James Duane, written in 1780, "Life of Hamil- 
ton." Vol. I. 2S4-305. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 237 

The first public proposal of a continental con- 
vention is assigned by Madison to one Pelatiah 
Webster, who made this suggestion in a pamphlet 
published in May, 1781. In the summer of 1782 
the legislature of New York, under the suggestion 
of Hamilton, passed resolutions recommending 
such a convention. On the 1st of April, 1783, Ham- 
ilton, in a debate in Congress, expressed his de- 
sire to see a general convention take place. In 
1784 the measure was a good deal talked of among 
the members of Congress, and in the wintei* of 
1784-85, Noah Webster, an eminent political writer 
in Connecticut, suggested "a new system of gov- 
ernment, which should act, not on the States, but 
directly on individuals, and vest in Congress full 
power to carry its laws into effect." In 1780 the 
subject was again talked of among members of 
Congress, before the meeting at Annapolis. But 
Hamilton'^ letter to James Duane, in 1780, al- 
though not published at the time, was of course 
earlier than any of these suggestions.^^ 

Congress, after much hesitation, approved of 
the plan of a General Convention, as proposed by 
the convention of commissioners at Annapolis; 
and recommended that "on the second Monday in 
May next, -a convention of delegates, who shall 
have been appointed by the several States, be held 
at Philadelphia, for the sole and express purpose 
of revising the Articles of Confederation, and re- 
porting to Congress and the several legislatures 
such alterations and provisions therein as shall, 

"Curtis, Const. Hist, of the U. S, 



238 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

when agreed to in Congress and confirmed by the 
States, render the Federal Constitution adequate 
to the exigencies of government and the preserva- 
tion of the Union,^'^" 

A point was now gained, b}' this action of Con- 
gress, of vast and decisive importance. That the 
Congress should give up their right to originate 
changes in the system of national government; that 
it should sanction a general revision of the Con- 
stitution then in force, by an outside body, with 
an expression that "experience hath evinced that 
there are defects in the present Confederation;" 
and that "such a convention appearing to be the 
most probable means of establishing in these 
States a firm national government," — v/ere all pre- 
liminaries essential to a thorough reformation of 
the national government. The time had now come, 
however, to establish a constitution of government 
on the principles announced in the Declaration of 
Independence. For this we are indebted to no 
one more than to Alexander Hamilton. 

Having thus, briefly, sketched the origin of the 
Convention, I proceed now, in as brief a way as 
possible, to the doings of that CouA^ention. 

All the thirteen States, except Rhode Island, 
having selected delegates, through their legisla- 
tures — from the bodj' of the people — these dele- 
gates met at Philadelphia, on the 14th day of May, 
1787, — the place and time fixed by Congress — 
fifty-five attending the Convention. George Wash- 
ington w^as unanimously chosen as its President; 

"Journals of Cong., Vol. XII, 17, February 21, 1787. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 239 

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Benjamin 
Franklin, Gouvernenr Morris, Riifiis King, Charles 
C'otesworth Pinckney, James Wilson, Edmund 
Randolph, Roger Sherman, John Dickinson, Rob- 
ert Morris, Charles Pinckney, George Mason, and 
John Rutledge, were among its most distinguished 
members. 

The Convention being now organized the dele- 
gates were ready to begin the great task before 
them. How well the^^ performed that great task 
the result of their work speaks for itself. Suffice 
it to say that the Constitution framed by them 
is the best example of a constitution of govern- 
ment ever devised by man; and will ever remain 
a monument to their wisdom. 

Under the resolution of Congress authorizing 
the Convention, the only power given its members 
was, "of revising the Articles of Confederation, and 
reporting to Congress and the several legislatures 
such alterations and provisions therein as shall, 
when agreed to in Congress and confirmed by the 
States, render the Federal Constitution adequate 
to the exigencies of government and the preserva- 
tion of the Union." The first question, then, that 
came up was, Is it possible to revise the Articles of 
Confederation so as to "render the Federal Consti- 
tution adequate to the exigencies of government 
and the preservation of the Union?" They an- 
swered this in the negative. It would seem, then, 
that after this answer the Convention had no fur- 
ther duties to perform, except to adjourn. But this 
they did not do, but proceeded to the formation of 



240 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

an entirely new constitution as a substitute for 
the Articles of Confederation. 

Two questions now arose: What shall the new 
constitution be? and how shall it be established? 
The answers to these took time, reflection, argu- 
ment, concession, compromise, and wise states- 
manship, coupled with a large knowledge of the 
science of government. 

The members of the Convention had now 
launched out on their own responsibility to reform 
the existing national government; and it would 
seem that from this time, at least, the Convention 
became a revolutionary body. They now acted 
contrary to and against the existing constitution, 
and outside of the powers granted them by the 
Congress; they assumed to act in the name of "We, 
the people." They assumed the power, in the name 
of the people of the United States, to form "a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquillity, provide for the common defense, pro- 
mote the general welfare, and secure the blessings 
of liberty to themselves and their posterity." They 
assumed, however, the power simply of framing a 
constitution, which they hoped would secure these 
great objects to the people of the United States, 
and of submitting it to the people for final action. 
It would seem that they acted on the theory that 
it did not make any difference who drew up the 
Constitution so that it was submitted to the peo- 
ple of the United States for their ratification. In 
this they were right. Of course the act was revolu- 
tionary, but that was the only way left under exist- 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 241 

ing circumstances, of founding a government based 
on "the consent of the governed." 

Hence the members of that Convention as- 
sumed to act as the representatives of the people 
of the United States in order to form a constitution 
of government for the Union, which should be sub- 
mitted to them for their adoption or rejection, in 
their sovereign capacity as the holders of all po- 
litical power. In other words, the people of the 
United States were recognized, by these proceed- 
ings, as the American state — the original sover- 
eign power of the land; whereas before this they 
were not so recognized, at least, in national govern- 
mental matters, for the Articles of Confederation 
were made by sovereign States in their corporate 
capacities — the people, as such, were ignored. 

With this assumption of power, as the basis of 
their acts, the delegates proceeded to the formation 
of the Constitution. The first question now that 
arose was, What are the necessary constituent 
powers of a free government? It was soon deter- 
mined that a well balanced republican govern- 
ment should consist of three general departments, 
namely, the legislative, the executive, and the judi- 
cial. With this as the foundation of the new Con- 
stitution the Convention began its labors of con- 
structing the Constitution. Herein consisted the 
great work of the Convention. 

As it was designed to be an efficient national 

government, one with powers "adequate to the 

exigencies of government and the preservation of 

the Union," it was necessary to carefully consider 

le 



242 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

what powers should be given it to carry out these 
great objects, and not infringe on the necessary 
powers of the States for local government. These 
were matters of great moment to be determined 
with the utmost precision; for on this adjustment 
of powers, as between the National and the State 
governments, depended the harmonious working 
of the whole system of government, then being 
devised. 

With what far-seeing statesmanship did these 
men give to one the powers necessary to carry out 
national objects; to the other those powers neces- 
sary only for the promotion of local affairs. The na- 
tional government was made so that it would bo 
over all — its constitution, treaties, and laws, were 
to be the supreme law of the land. All other consti- 
tutions nud laws were made subordinate to these. 

Finally, after four months of great anxiety and 
hard labor, the Constitution was agreed on and 
signed by thirty-nine members of the Convention, 
September 17, 1787, and was now ready for submis- 
sion to the people of the United States for their 
adoption or rejection as they might deem best. 
And that there might be no mistake that the new 
Constitution was to be the people's constitution, 
it was provided in the Constitution, in addition to 
the preamble, that "the ratification of the Conven- 
tions of nine States shall be sufficient for the estab- 
lishment of this Constitution between the States 
so ratifying the same." 

It has been related, as a tradition, that when 
Washington was about to sign the Constitution, 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 243 

he rose from his seat, and, holding the pen in his 
hand, after a short pause, said : "Should the States 
reject this excellent Constitution, the probability 
is that an opportunity will never again offer to can- 
cel another in peace — the next will be drawn in 
blood." 

The Constitution having been adopted b}^ the 
Convention was then transmitted to Congress, with 
the recommendation that it should "be submitted 
to a convention of delegates chosen in each State 
by the people thereof, under a recommendation of 
its legislature, for their assent and ratification." 
Congress thereupon adopted a resolution transmit- 
ting it to the State legislatures, "in order to be sub- 
mitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each 
State by the people thereof, in conformity to the 
resolves of the Convention made and provided in 
that case."2o 

In accordance with these resolves of the Con- 
vention and the Congress, conventions were called 
in all the States and delegates elected to attend 
the same. 

After the Constitution left the hands of the 
Convention which framed it, it passed through a 
severe ordeal. As soon" as it was known what had 
been done in the Convention at Philadelphia — the 
sessions of the Convention were secret — a powerful 
opposition rose against the Constitution in some 
of the States which threatened its rejection, and 
called forth all the energies and influence of its 
ablest friends — Washington, Hamilton, Madison, 

sopassed September 28, 1787. Journals XII, 149-166. 



244 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Franklin, James Wilson, and Charles Cotesworth 
Pinekney being of the number who ably promoted 
its adoption by the people. 

But to no other agency are we more indebted 
for its adoption, than to the efforts put forth by 
Madison and Hamilton with John Jay, who used 
their great talents and influence in the way of ar- 
gument, addressed to the people, in their cele- 
brated essays called "The Federalist." It was from 
Hamilton's essays, says an eminent writer, that 
the Federalist chiefly derived the weight and the 
power which carried conviction to a large body of 
intelligent men in all parts of the Union. Out of 
the total number of essays contained in the Feder- 
alist (eighty-five), Hamilton, it is said, wrote fifty- 
one, and assisted in writing some of the others. So 
long as the Constitution shall exist, these essays 
will be resorted to as the most important sources 
of contemporaneous interpretation which the his- 
tor}^ of the country affords. 

The Constitution, indeed, needed powerful ad- 
vocates; for it met with powerful opposition in 
some of the States when it came before the Con- 
ventions of the people for ratification. The Con- 
federation had been made by the States in their 
corporate capacities. The States were jealous of 
their rights; and now to be ignored, as such, in 
the making of a new constitution of government, 
as a substitute for the Confederation, aroused all 
the energies of those who believed in a confedera- 
tion of the States, rather than in a strong national 
government made by the people. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 245 

Patrick Henry, the great orator of Virginia, 
used all his influence against the adoption of the 
Constitution in the Convention of the people of 
that State. He asked, "Who authorized them (the 
framers of the Constitution) to speak the language 
of ^We, the people,' instead of ^We, the States'?" 
"States," said he, "are the characteristic and the 
soul of a confederation. If the States be not the 
agents of thi? compact, it must be one great con- 
solidated national government of the people of all 
the States." George Mason, another powerful op- 
ponent of the new Constitution, said in the same 
Convention: "Whether the Constitution be good 
or bad, the present clause clearly discovers that it 
is a national government, and no longer a confed- 
eration." 

However, in 1788 the people of eleven States 
had ratified the new Constitution. The other two 
— Rhode Island and North Carolina — did not 
adopt it until early in 1790. The government went 
into operation, however, under. the Constitution, — 
b}' an act of Congress, — on March 4th, 1789; al- 
though, owing to delays, Washington, the first 
President, was not inaugurated until April 30th of 
that year. 

It may be truly said, I think, that the making of 
the Constitution, by the people of the United 
States, and putting the government into operation 
under it, was as much a revolution as was the rev- 
olution by which our independence was gained of 
Great Britain; peaceable, it is true, but neverthe- 
less revolution. For, as has been said before in 



246 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

this chapter, the Articles of Confederation — ^the 
existing law when this new Constitution was made 
and went into effect — prescribed that no altera- 
tion should be made in the Articles except by the 
Congress and the approval by the legislature of 
every State. This provision was undoubtedly vio- 
lated in the making of the Constitution. The peo- 
ple of the United States, under the Confederation, 
took it into their own hands to make a constitution 
of government conformable to their will, — major- 
ity will, — and by adopting the Constitution, and 
organizing and putting into operation a govern- 
ment under it, overturned the Confederate consti- 
tution and government made by the States. 

We may well say that, under the combination 
of circumstances, the result was but little short of 
a miracle; and, as Kent has well said, "the peace- 
able adoption of this government, under all the cir- 
cumstances which attended it, presented the case 
of an effort of deliberation, combined with a spirit 
of amity and of mutual concession, which was 
without example. It must be a source of just 
pride, and of the most grateful recollection, to 
(^very American, who reflects seriously on the diffi- 
culty of the experiment, the manner in which it 
was conducted, the felicity of its issue, and the 
fate of similar trials in other nations of the earth." 

onoustitution of tlxc IKtittted States uf ^mcricn. 

The following is an exact copy, in capitals, or- 
thography, text, and punctuation, of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States of America, as proposed 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 247 

and adopted by the Convention held at Philadel- 
phia, September 17, 1787, and afterwards ratified 
by the people of the several oiij^inal States: 

We the People of the United States, in Order to 
form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, in- 
sure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common 
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure 
the Blessings of Liberty- to ourselves and our Pos- 
terity, do ordain and establish this Constitution 
for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE. I. 

Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein 
granted shall be vested in a Congress^^ of the 
United States, w^hicli shall consist of a Senate 
and House of Representatives. 

Section. 2. The House of Representatives shall 
be composed of Members chosen every secon<l 
Year by the People of the several States, and the 
Electors in each State shall have the (}ualitica- 
tions requisite for Electors of the most numerous 
Branch of the State Legislature. 

No Person shall be a Representative who shall 
not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, 
and been seven Years a Citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an In- 
habitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be ap- 
portioned among the several States which may be 
included within this Union, according to their re- 

-'Congress meets in regular session on the first Monday in De- 
cember of eacli year; the session closes, by custom, at midnight on 
the third of the following March. Each Congress exists two years. 



248 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

spective Numbers, [which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole Number of free Persons, in- 
cluding those bound to Service for a Term of 
Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three 
fifths of all other Persons""], The actual Enumera- 
tion shall be made within three Years after the 
first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, 
and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, 
in such Manner as the}^ shall by Law direct. The 
Number of Representatives shall not exceed one 
for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall 
have at Least one Representative; and until such 
enumeration shall be made, the State of New 
Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Mas- 
sachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence 
Plantations one, Connecticut five. New- York six, 
New^ Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware 
one, Maryland six, Virginia ten. North Carolina 
five. South Carolina five, and Georgia three.--* 

When vacancies happen in the Representation 
from any State, the Executive Authority thereof 
shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacan- 
cies. 

The House of Representatives shall chuse their 
Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the 
sole Power of Impeachment. 

Section. 8. The Senate of the United States 
shall be composed of two Senators from each 



--"Persons," meaning slaves. The portion within brackets no 
longer in force. See Amenuments XIII. and XIV. to the Consti- 
tution. 

22*At prosent (1896) one- Representative is sent to Congress 
for every 173,901 persons. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 249 

State, chosen by the LegisUitiire thereof, for six 
Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in 
Consequence of the first Election, they shall be 
divided as equally as may be into three Classes. 
The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall 
be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, 
of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth 
Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of 
the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen 
every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by 
Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of 
the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof 
may make temporary Appointments until the next 
Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill 
such Vacancies. 

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not 
have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been 
nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Vice President of the United States shall 
be President of the Senate, but shall have no 
Vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and 
also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the 
Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Of- 
fice of President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all 
Impeachments. AVhen sitting for that Purpose, 
they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the Chief 



250 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Justice shall preside: Aud no Person shall be con- 
A'ieted without the Cononrrence of two thirds of the 
Members present. 

Judgment in Cases of Impeaeliment shall not 
extend further than to removal from Office, and 
disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of 
honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: 
but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable 
and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and 
Punishment, according to Law, 

Section. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of 
holding Elections for Senators and Representa- 
tives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Leg- 
islature thereof; but the Congress may at any time 
by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as 
to the Places of chusing Senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in 
every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first 
Monday in December, unless they shall by Law 
appoint a different Day. 

Section. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of 
the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its 
own Members, and a Majority of each shall consti- 
tute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Num- 
ber may adjourn from day to day, and may be au- 
thorized to compel the Attendance of absent Mem- 
bers, in such Manner, and under such Penalties 
as each House may provide. 

Each House may determine the Rules of its Pro- 
ceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Be- 
haviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, 
expel a Member. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 261 

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Pro- 
ceedings, and from time'to time publish the same, 
excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment 
require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the 
Members of either House on any question shall, 
at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be 
entered on the Journal. 

Neither Ilonse, during the Session of Congress, 
shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for 
more than three days, nor to any other Place than 
that in which the tAVo Houses shall be sitting. 

Section. 6. The Senators and Ilepresentatives 
shall receive a Compensation-^ for their Services, 
to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the 
Treasury of the United States. They shall in all 
Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the 
Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their At- 
tendance at the Session of their respective Houses, 
and in going to and returning from the same; and 
for any Speech or Debate in either House, they 
shall not be questioned in any other Place. 

No Senator or Representative shall, during the 
Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any 
civil Office under the Authority of the United 
States, which shall have been created, or the Emol- 
uments whereof shall have been encreased during 
such time; and no Person holding any Office under 
the United States, shall be a Member of either 
House during his Continuance in Office. 

Section. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall 

^Fixed by Congress at $5,000 a year, with twenty cents for every 
mile necessarily travelled in coming to and returning from the 
Capital. 



252 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

originate in the House of RepresentatiA^es ; but the 
Senate may propose or concur with Amendments 
as on other Bills. 

Every Bill which shall have passed the House 
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before 
it become a Law, be presented to the President of 
the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, 
but if not he shall return it, with his Objections 
to that House in which it shall have originated, 
who shall enter the Objections at large on their 
Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such 
Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall 
agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with 
the Objections, to the other House, by which it 
shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by 
two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. 
But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses 
shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the 
Names of the Persons voting for and against the 
Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House 
respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned 
by the President within ten Days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, 
the Same shall be a law, in like Manner as if he 
had signed it, unless the Congress by their Ad- 
journment prevent its Return, in which Case it 
shall not be a Law. 

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the 
Concurrence of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives may be necessary (except on a question 
of Adjournment) shall be presented to the Presi- 
dent of the United States; and before the Same 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 253 

shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or 
being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by 
two thirds of the Senate and House of Representa- 
tives, according to the Rules and Limitations pre- 
scribed in the Case of a Bill. 

Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power 

To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and 
Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the com- 
mon Defence and general Welfare of the United 
States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall 
be uniform throughout the United States; 

To borrow Money on the credit of the United 
States; 

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, 
and among the several States, and with the Indian 
Tribes; 

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, 
and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies 
throughout the United States; 

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and 
of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights 
and Measures; 

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeit- 
ing the Securities and current Coin of the United 
States; 

To establish Post Offices and post Roads; 

To promote the Progress of Science and useful 
Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors 
and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respect- 
ive Writings and Discoveries; 

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme 
Court ; 



254 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies 
committed on the liigh Seas, and Offences against 
the Law of Nations; 

To dechire War, grant Letters of Mai'que and 
Reprisal, and make Knles concerning Captures on 
Tiand and Water; 

To raise and support Armies, but no Appro- 
priation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer 
Term than two Years; 

To provide and maintain a Navy; 

To make Rules for the Government and Reg- 
ulation of the land and naval Forces; 

To provide for calling forth the Militia to exe- 
cute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections 
and repel Invasions; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and dis- 
ciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part 
of them as may be employed in the Service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively, 
the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority 
of training the Militia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress; 

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases 
whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten 
Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular 
States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become 
the Seat of the Government of the ITnited States, 
and to exercise like Authority over all Places pur- 
chased by the Consent of the Legislature of the 
State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection 
of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock- Yards, and 
other needful Buildings; — And 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 255 

To make all Laws which shall be ueeessary and 
proper for carrying- into Execution the foregoing 
Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Consti- 
tution in the Government of the United States, or 
in any Department or Officer thereof. 

Section. 9. The Migration or Importation of 
such Persons as any of the States now existing 
shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohib- 
ited by the Congress prior to the Year one thou- 
sand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty 
may be imposed on such Importation, not exceed- 
ing ten dollars for each Person.-^ 

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus 
shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of 
Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may re- 
quire it. ^ 

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall 
be passed. 

No Capitation, or other direct. Tax shall be laid, 
unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration 
hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles ex- 
ported from any State. 

No Preference shall be given by any Kegula- 
tion of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one 
State over those of another: nor shall Vessels 
bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, 
clear, or pa}' Duties in another. 

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, 
but in Consequence of Appropriations made by 

^■'"Person," meaning slave; referring- to tiie foreign slave-trade 
then being carried on. This slave-trade prohibited by Congress in 
1808. 



256 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the 
Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money 
shall be published from time to time. 

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the 
United States: And no Person holding any Office 
of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the 
Consent of the Congress, accept of any Present, 
Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, 
from any King, Prince, or foreign State. 

Section. 10. No State shall enter into any 
Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters 
of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of 
Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin 
a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of 
Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing 
the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of 
Nobility. 

No State shall, without the Consent of the Con- 
gress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or 
Exports, except what may be absolutely nece:?sarv 
for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Pro- 
duce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State 
on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the 
Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws 
shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of 
the Congress. 

No State shall, without the Consent of Con- 
gress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or 
Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any 
Agreement or Compact with another State, or with 
a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually 
invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not 
admit of delay. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 257 

ARTICLE. II. 

Section. 1. The executive Power shall be vested 
in a President of the United States of America. 
He shall hold his Office during the Term of foiir 
Years, and, together with the Vice President, 
chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows 

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as 
the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of 
Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators 
and Representatives to which the State may be 
entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Repre- 
sentative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or 
Profit under the LTnited States, shall be appointed 
an Elector. 

*[The Electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by BaHot for two Persons, of 
whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the 
same State with themselves. And they shall make 
a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Num^ 
ber of Votes for each; which List they shall sign 
and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the 
Government of the LTnited States, directed to the 
President of the Senate. The President of the 
Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, 
and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person 
having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the 
President, if such Number be a Majority of the 
whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there 

*The paragraph within brackets rendered null and void by the 
Xllth Amendment. 



258 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

be more than one who have 8ueh Majority, and 
have an equal Number of Votes, then the IJouhc of 
Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot 
one of them for President; and if no Person have 
a Majority, then from the tive highest on the List 
the said House shall in like Manner chuse the 
President. But in chusing the President, the \'otes 
shall be taken by States, the Representation from 
each State having one Vote; A quorum for this 
Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members 
from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all 
the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every 
Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person 
having the greatest Number of Votes of the Elect- 
ors shall be the Vice President. But if there 
should remain two or more who have equal A'otes, 
the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the 
Vice President.] 

The Congress may determine the Time of 
chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they 
shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the 
same throughout the United States.-^ 

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a 
Citizen of the United States, at the time of the 
Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to 
the OflSce of President; neither shall any Person 
be eligible to that Office who shall not have at- 
tained to the Age of thirty tive Years, and been 

-*The electors are chosen on the Tuesday following the first Mon- 
day in November next before the expiration of a presidential term. 
They vote (by Act of Congress of February 3, 1887) on the second 
Monday in January following for President and Vice-President. 
The votes are counted, and declared in Congress on the second 
Wednesday of the next February. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 259 

fourteen Years a Resident within the United 
States. 

In Case of the Removal of the President from 
Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to 
discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, 
the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and 
the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of 
Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of 
the President and Vice President, declaring what 
Officer shall then act as President, and such Offi- 
cer shall act accordingly, until the Disabilit}^ be 
removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated Times, receive 
for his Services, a Compensation,^*^ which shall 
neither be encreased nor diminished during the 
Period for which he shall have been elected, and 
he shall not receive within that Period any other 
Emolument from the Ignited States, or any of 
them. 

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, 
he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: — 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
faithfully execute the Office of President of the 
United States, and will to the best of my Ability, 
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of 
the United States." 

Section. 2. The President shall be Commander 
in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United 
States, and of the Militia of the several States, 
when called into the actual Service of the United 

-^The President now receives $50,000 a year; the Vice-President 
$8,000. Previous to 1872, the President received but $25,000 a year. 



260 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

States; be may require the Opinion, in writing, of 
the principal Officer in each of the executive De- 
partments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties 
of their respective Offices, and he shall have 
Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences 
against the United States, except in Cases of Im- 
peachment. 

He shall have Power, b}^ and with the Advice 
and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, pro- 
vided two thirds of the Senators present concur; 
and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice 
and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassa- 
dors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of 
the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the 
United States, whose Appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab- 
lished by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest 
the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they 
think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts 
of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. 

The President shall have Power to fill up all 
Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of 
the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall 
expire at the End of their next Session. 

Section. 3. He shall from time to time give 
to the Congress Information of the State of the 
Union, and recommend to their Consideration such 
Measures as he shall judge necessary and expe- 
dient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, con- 
vene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of 
Disagreement between them, with Respect to the 
Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. . 261 

such Time as be shall think proper; he shall re- 
ceive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he 
shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully exe- 
cuted, and shall Commission all the officers of the 
United States. 

Section. 4. The President, Vice President and 
all civil Officers of the United States, shall be re- 
moved from Office on Impeachment for, and Con- 
viction of. Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes 
and Misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE. III. 

Section. 1. The judicial Power of the United 
States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and 
in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from 
time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, 
both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold 
their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at 
stated Times, receive for their Services, a Com- 
pensation, which shall- not be diminished during 
their Continuance in Office. 

Section. 2. The judicial Power shall extend 
to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this 
Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and 
Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their 
Authority; — to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, 
other public Ministers and Consuls;— to all Cases 
of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; — to Con- 
troversies to which the United States shall be a 
Party; — to Controversies between two or more 
States; — between a State and Citizens of another 



262 . A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

State; — between Citizens of different States, — be- 
tween Citizens of the same State claiming Lands 
under Grants of different States, and between a 
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, 
Citizens or Subjects. 

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other pub- 
lic Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a 
State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have 
original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before 
mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate 
Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such 
Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the 
Congress shall make. 

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Im- 
peachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall 
be held in the State where the said Crimes shall 
have been committed; but when not committed 
within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place 
or Places as the Congress may by Law have di- 
rected. 

Section. 3. Treason against the United States, 
shall consist only in levying War against them, 
or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid 
and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of 
Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses 
to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open 
Court. 

The Congress shall have Power to declare the 
Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Trea- 
son shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture 
except during the Life of the Person attainted. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 2f^8 

ARTICLE. lY. 

Sectiou. 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given 
in each State to the public Acts, Records, and 
judicial Proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the 
Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceed- 
ings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. 

Section. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be 
entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citi- 
zens in the several States. 

A Person charged in any State with Treason, 
Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, 
and be found in another State, shall on Demand of 
the executive Authority of the State from which 
he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State 
having Jurisdiction of the Crime. 

No Person-" held to Service or Labour in one 
State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into an- 
other, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regula- 
tion therein, be discharged from such Service or 
Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the 
Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. 

Section. 3. New States may be admitted by 
the Congress into this Unicm; but no new State 
shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction 
of any other State; nor any State be formed by I he 
Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, 
without the Consent of the Legislatures of the 
States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

""Person" here means slave. This clause of Section 2. Article 
IV, has no force now, as slavery was abolished hy Amendment 
XIII. to the Constitution. 



264 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of 
and make all needful Rules and Regulations re- 
specting the Territory or other Property belonging 
to the United States; and nothing in this Consti- 
tution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any 
Claims of the United States, or of any particular 
State. 

Section. 4. The United States shall guarantee 
to every State in this Union a Republican Form of 
Government, and shall protect each of them 
against Invasion; and on Application of the Legis- 
lature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature 
cannot be convened) against domestic Violence. 

ARTICLE. V. 

The Congress, whenever two tliirds of both 
Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose 
Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Ap- 
plication of the Legislatures of two thirds of the 
several States, shall call a Convention for propos- 
ing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be 
valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this 
Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of 
three fourths of the several States, or by Conven- 
tions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the 
other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the 
Congress; Provided that no Amendment which 
may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight 
hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the 
first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of 
-the first Article; and that no State, without its 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 265 

Consent, shall be deprived of it's equal Suffrage in 
the Senate. 

ARTICLE. VI. 

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered 
into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, 
shall be as valid against the United States under 
this Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United 
States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; 
and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the Authority of the United States, shall be 
the supreme Law of the Land ; and the Judges in 
every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in 
the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

The Senators and Representatives before men- 
tioned, and the Members of the several State Legis- 
latures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both 
of the United States and of the several States, 
shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to sup-, 
port this Constitution; but no religious Test shall 
ever be required as a qualification to any Office 
or public Trust under the LTnited States. 

ARTICLE. VII. 

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine 
States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of 
this Constitution between the States so ratifying 
the Same. 



268 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

ISone in Convention by the Unanimous 
Consent of the States present the Sev- 
enteenth Day of September in the Year 
of our Lord one thousand seven hun- 
dred and Eighty seven and of the Inde- 
pendence of the United States of Amer- 
ica the Twelfth %n Ulitness where- 
of We have hereunto subscribed our 
Names. 

GO. WASHINGTON-Presidt. 

and Deputy from Virginia. 
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
JOHN LANGDON. NICHOLAS OILMAN. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
NATHANIEL GORHAM. RUFUS KING. 

CONNECTICUT. 
WM. SAM'L JOHNSON. ROGER SHERMAN. 

NEW YORK. 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 
NEW JERSEY. 
WIL: LIVINGSTON. WM. PATERSON. 

DAVID BREARLEY. JONA: DAYTON. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
B. FRANKLIN. THOS. FITZ SIMONS. 

THOMAS MIFFLIN. JARED INGERSOLL. 

ROBT. MORRIS. JAMES WILSON. 

GEO. CLYMER. GOUA- MORRIS. 

DELAWARE. 
GEO: READ. RICHARD BASSETT. 

GUNNING BEDFORD, JUN. JACO: BROOM. 
JOHN DICKINSON. 

MARYLAND. 
JAMES McHENRY. DANL. CARROLL. 

DAN OF ST. THOS. JENIFER. 

VIRGINIA. 
JOHN BLAIR. JAMES MADISON, JR. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 
CHARLES C. PINCKNEY. J RUTLEDGE. 

CHARLES PINCKNEY. PIERCE BUTLER. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 
WM. BLOUNT. HU WILLIAMSON. 

RICHD. DOBBS SPAIGHT. 

GEORGIA. 
WILLIi^M FEW. ABR. BALDWIN. 

Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 267 



AJITICLES IN ADDITION TO, AND AMENDMENT OF, THE 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

OF AMERICA, 

Proposed by Congress and Ratified by the Legislatures of the 

several States, pursuant to the Fifth Article of 

the Original Constitution. 



ARTICLE I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an 
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free 
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the govern- 
ment for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE 11. 

A well regulated militia being necessary to 
the security of a free state, the right of the people 
to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE IIL 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered 
in any house without the consent of the owner: 
nor in time of war, but in a manner to be pre- 
scribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their 
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against un- 



268 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

reasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- 
lated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon prob- 
ble cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and 
particularly describing the place to be searched, 
and the persons or things to be seized, 

ARTICLE V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a present- 
ment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases 
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, 
when in actual service, in time of war or public 
danger; nor shall any person be subject, for the 
same offense, to be twice put in jeopardy of life or 
limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, 
to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property, without due process of 
law; nor shall private property be taken for public 
use without just compensation. 

ARTK'LE VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an 
impartial jury of the State and district wherein 
the (.-rime shall have been committed, which dis- 
trict shall have Iwvn jireviously ascertained by 
law, and to be informed of the nature and cause 
of the accusation; to be confronted with the wit- 
nesses against him; to have compulsory process 
for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have 
the assistance of counsel for his defense. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. '269 

ARTICLE VII. 

In suits at common law, where the valne in con- 
troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact, tried 
by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
court of the United States, than according to the 
rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIIL 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish- 
ments inflicted. 

ARTIC1.E IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of cer- 
tain rights, shall not be construed to deny or dis- 
parage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the 
States, are reserved to the States respectively or 
to the people. 

ARTICLE XL 

The judicial power of the United States shall 
not be construed to extend to any suit in law or 
equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of 
the United States by citizens of another State, or 
by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 



270 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

ARTICLE XII. 

The electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote hj ballot for President and Vice- 
President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with them -.elves; they 
shall name in their ballots the person voted for as 
President, and in distinct ballots the person voted 
for as Vice-President; and they shall make distini-t 
lists of all persons voted for as President, and of 
all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the 
number of votes for each, which lists they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of 
the government of the United Slates, directed to the 
President of the Senate; the President of the Sen- 
ate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, open all the certificates, and 
the votes shall then be counted; the person having 
the greatest number of votes for President shall be 
the President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed; and if 
no person have such majority, then from the per- 
sons having the highest numbers, m)t exceeding 
three, on the list of those voted for as President, 
the House of Representatives shall choose imme- 
diately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing 
the President, the votes shall be taken by States, 
the representation from each State having one 
vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a 
member or members from two-thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 271 

shall not choose a President, whenever the right 
of choice shall devolve upon them, before the 
fourth da}^ of March next following, then the Vice- 
President shall act as President, as in the case of 
the death or other constitutional disability of the 
President. 

The person having the greatest number of 
votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-Presi- 
dent, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed; and if no person 
have a majority, then from tJie two liighest num- 
bers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice- 
President; a quorum for that purpose shall consist 
of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and 
a majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice. 

But no person constitutionally ineligible to 
the office of President shall be eligible to that of 
Vice-President of the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

Sec. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servi- 
tude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof 
the party shall have been duly convicted, shall ex- 
ist within the United States, or any place subject 
to their jurisdiction. 

Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce 
this article by appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV. 
Sec. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the 



272 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

United States, and subject to the jurisdiction 
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the 
State wherein they reside. No State shall make 
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privi- 
leges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of 
life, liberty, or property-, without due process of 
law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

Sec, 2. Representatives shall be apportioned 
among the several States, according to their re- 
spective numbers, counting the whole number of 
persons in each State, excluding Indians not 
taxed. But when the right to vote at any election 
for the choice of electors for President and Vice- 
President of the United States, representatives in 
Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a 
State, or the members of the legislature thereof, 
is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such 
State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens 
of the United States, or in any way abridged, ex- 
cept for participation in rebellion or other crime, 
the basis of representation therein shall be reduced 
in the proportion which the number of male 
citizens shall bear to the whole number of male 
citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Repre- 
sentative in Congress, or elector of President and 
Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, 
•under the United States, or under any State, who, 
having previously taken an oath, as a member of 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 273 

Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or 
as a member of any State Legislature, or as an 
executive or judicial officer of any State, to sup- 
port the Constitution of the United States, shall 
have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against 
the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds 
of each House, remove such disability. 

Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the 
United States, authorized by law, including debts 
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for 
services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt 
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or re- 
bellion against the United States, or any claim for 
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all 
such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held 
illegal and void. 

Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to en- 
force, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of 
this article. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Sec. 1. The right of citizens of the United 
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by 
the United States or by any State on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to en- 
force this article by appropriate legislation. 



274 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

NOTE. 

The Emancipation Proclamation, of President 
Lincoln, freed the slaves in the States and parts 
of States in rebellion, on the 1st day of January, 
1863. That proclamation was supplemented by 
the XIII amendment to the Constitution, which 
freed all the slaves in the United States. The XIV 
amendment made all the freedmen (negroes) "cit- 
izens" of the United States; and the object of the 
XV amendment was to give theni the right to 
"vote." 

CHRONOLOGY OF AMENDMENTS TO THE 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED 

STATES. 

The first ten Articles of Amendments were pro- 
posed by Congress in 1789, at their first session; 
they were ratified by the legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several States, and became a part of 
the Constitution December 15, 1791. 

The eleventh Article was proposed by Congress 
in 1794. President Adams declared in his mes- 
sage, January 8, 1798, that it had received the rat- 
ification of the constitutional number of States, 
and was therefore a part of the fundamental law 
of the land. 

The twelfth Article of Amendments was pro- 
posed by Congress at their session in 1803, and was 
duly ratified during the following year, and be- 
came a part of the Constitution of the United 
States. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 275 

The thirteenth Article of Amendments was 
proposed at the second session of the thirty-eighth 
Congress, passing the Senate in 1864, and the 
House in 1865. William H. Seward, then Secre- 
tary of State, offlciall}^ announced to the country, 
December 18, 1865, that it had been ratified by 
three-fourths of the States, and was therefore a 
part of the supreme law of the land. 

The fourteenth Article of Amendments was 
proposed by Congress in 1866. William H. Seward, 
Secretary of State, announced July 28, 1868, that 
it had been ratified by the legislatures of the re- 
quisite number of States, and had, therefore, be- 
come a part of the Constitution. 

The fifteenth Article of Amendments was pro- 
posed by Congress in 1869. Hamilton Fish, then 
Secretary of State, announced March 30, 1870, that 
it had been ratified by the requisite number of 
States, and was, therefore, a part of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. 



276 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER VI. 

INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

A 
. Art. Sec. Page. 

ACTS, records and judicial proceedings of each 

State shall be given full faith and credit in 

every State 4 i 263 

AMENDMENTS to the Constitution, how made. . 5 . . 264 

made 267 

APPOINTMENTS to be made by the President. . 2 2 260 
APPORTIONMENT of Representatives to Con- 
gress I 2 247 

APPORTIONMENT of Representatives 142A* 273 

APPROPRIATIONS by law i 9 255 

FOR ARMY, not to exceed 

two years i 8 254 

ARMIES, Congress to raise and support i 8 254 

ARMS, right of the people to keep and bear 2 A 267 

ARTS AND SCIENCES, to be promoted i 8 253 

ASSEMBLE, people may peaceably i A 267 

ATTAINDER, bill of, prohibited to Congress i 9 255 

" " " to the State... i 10 256 
ATTAINDER OF TREASON, shall not work 
corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except dur- 
ing the life of the person attainted 3 3 262 

B 

BAIL, excessive, shall not be required 8 A 269 

BANKRUPTCY laws to be uniform i 8 253 

BILLS for raising revenue, shall originate in the 

House of Representatives i 7 251 

BILLS before they become laws shall be passed 
by both Houses, and approved by the Presi- 
dent; or, if disapproved, shall be passed by 
two-thirds of each House i 7 252 

* A etands for AMENDMENT in this chapter. 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 277 

Art. Sec. Page. 
BILLS not returned by the President in ten days 

(Sundays excepted), unless an adjournment in- 
tervene, shall be laws i 7 252 

BORROW MONEY, Congress may i 8 253 

C 

CAPITATION TAX, apportionment of i 9 255 

CENSUS, or enumeration, to be made every ten 

years i 2 248 

CITIZENS of each State shall be entitled to the 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the 
several States 4 2 263 

CITIZENS, WHO ARE; all persons born or nat- 
uralized in the United States, and subject to 
its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside 14 lA 271 

CLAIMS, no prejudice to certain 4 3 264 

" of a particular kind of the United States, 
or of the several States, not to be prejudiced 
by any construction of the Constitution 4 3 264 

CLAIMS for the loss or emancipation of slaves 
shall not be paid, neither by the United States 
nor by any State 14 4A 273 

COINS, Congress to fix value of foreign i 8 253 

COMMERCE, Congress to regulate with foreign 
nations, among the several States, and with 
the Indian tribes i 8 253 

COMMISSIONS, to be granted by the President. . 2 3 261 

COMMON LAW, recognized and established 7 A 269 

CONGRESS, vested with all legislative powers., i i 247 
" may alter the regulations of State 
Legislatures concerning elections of Senators 
and Representatives, except as to place of 
choosing Senators i 4 250 

CONGRESS shall assemble at least once every 

year ^ 4 250 

CONGRESS, ofScers of Government cannot be 

members of i 6 251 

CONGRESS may provide for cases of removal, 

death, etc., of President and Vice-President. .. 2 i 259 



278 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

CONGRESS may determine time of choosing 
electors of President and Vice-President, and 
the day on which they shall give their votes. . 2 i 258 

CONGRESS may vest the appointment of infe- 
rior officers in the President alone, in the 
courts of law, or the heads of departments 2 2 260 

CONGRESS may establish courts inferior to the 

Supreme Court 3 i 261 

CONGRESS shall have power to declare the pun- 
ishment of treason 3 3 262 

CONGRESS may prescribe the manner of proving 
the acts and records of each State, and the ef- 
fect thereof 4 i 263 

CONGRESS may admit new States into the Union 4 3 263 
" shall propose "amendments to 

Constitution," whenever two-thirds of both 
Houses shall deem it necessary; or, on the ap- 
plication of the Legislatures of two-thirds of 
the several States, shall call a convention for 

proposing amendments 5 . . 264 

CONGRESS shall have power to levy and collect 

taxes, duties, pay debts, etc i 8 253 

CONGRESS to borrow money i 8 253 

" to regulate commerce i 8 253 

" to establish uniform laws of bank- 
ruptcy and naturalization i 8 253 

CONGRESS to coin money, regulate the value of 
coin, and fix the standard of weights and meas- 
ures I 8 253 

CONGRESS to punish counterfeiting i 8 253 

, " to establish post-oiSces and post 

roads i 8 253 

CONGRESS to promote the progress of science, 
etc., by securing for a limited time to authors 
and inventors the exclusive right to their re- 
spective writings and discoveries i 8 253 

CONGRESS to constitute tribunals inferior to the 

Supreme Court i 8 253 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 279 

__ Art. Sec. Page. 

CONGRESS to define and punish piracies, felonies 

on the high seas, and offenses against the laws 

of nations i 8 254 

CONGRESS to declare war, grant letters of 
marque and reprisal, and make rules concern- 
ing captures i 8 254 

CONGRESS to raise and support armies i 8 254 

to provide and maintain a navy.... i 8 254 
to make rules for the government 
of the army and navy i 8 254 

CONGRESS to call out the militia in certain cases i 8 254 
to organize, arm, and discipline mili- 
tia I 8 254 

CONGRESS to exercise exclusive legislation over 

seat of Government i 8 254 

CONGRESS to exercise exclusive legislation over 
all places purchased by consent of the Legis- 
lature of the State in which the same shall be, 
for the erection of forts, etc i 8 254 

CONGRESS to make all laws necessary to carry 
into effect all the powers vested by the Consti- 
tution 1 8 255 

CONGRESS, limitations of the powers of i 9 255 

has power to dispose of and make 
needful rules and regulations concerning the 
territory or other property of the United States 4 3 264 

CONGRESS given power to enforce Article 13 of 

Amendments 13 2 A 271 

CONGRESS given power to enforce Article 14 of 

Amendments 14 5A 273 

CONGRESS given power to enforce Article 15 of 

Amendments 15 2A zyi 

CONGRESS, President may convene and adjourn, 

in certain cases 2 3 260 

CONGRESS shall make no law respecting estab- 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting free exer- 
cise thereof; or abridging freedom of speech, 
or of the press; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition Gov- 
ernment for redress of grievances i A 267 



2^0 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY, 

Art. Sec. Page. 
CONSTITUTION, how amended 5 .. 264 

laws and treaties supreme law 

of land 6 .. 265 

CONSTITUTION rendered operative by the rati- 
V fication of the conventions of nine States 7 . . 265 

CONVENTIONS for proposing amendments to 

the Constitution 5 . . 264 

COUNTERFEITING, Congress to provide for 

punishment i 8 253 

COURT, Supreme, its original and appellate juris- 
diction 3 2 261 

COURTS, inferior to the Supreme Court, may be 

created by Congress i 8 253 

COURTS, inferior to the Supreme Court, may be 

created by Congress 3 i 261 

CRIMES, persons accused of, fleeing from justice, 

may be dem.anded 4 2 263 

CRIMES, how to be tried 3 2 262 

CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS, proceedings in 

cases of 6 A 268 

D 

DEBTS, validity of public debt of United States, 

authorized by law, shall not be questioned.... 14 4A 273 

DEBTS incurred in aid of the Rebellion against 
the United States, or claims for loss or eman- 
cipation of slaves, shall be held illegal and void 14 4A 273 

DEBTS made under the Confederation to be valiJ 6 .. 265 

DUTIES to be laid by Congress, and to be uni- 
form I 8 253 

DUTIES, further provision respecting i 9 255 

" cannot be laid by the States, without 
consent of Congress, except what may be abso- 
lutely necessary for executing its inspection 
laws I 10 256 

DUTIES on exports prohibited i 9 255 

" net produce of, imposed by States, shall 
be for the use of the Treasury of the United 
States I 10 256 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 281 

St 

E 

Art. Sec. Page. 

ELECTIONS, times, places, and manner of hold- 
ing elections for Senators and Representatives 
shall be prescribed by each State; but Congress 
may by law make or alter such regulations, ex- 
cept as to places of choosing Senators i 4 250 

ELECTIONS, returns and qualifications of mem- 
bers of Congress to be determined by each 

House I 5 250 

-ELECTORS of President and Vice-President, how 

chosen, and their duties 2 i 257 

ELECTORS, this changed by 12 A 270 

" to vote the same day throughout 
the United States 2 i 258 

ELECTORS, no Senator or Representative, or 
person holding an ol^ce of trust or profit under 
the United States, shall serve as 2 i 257 

ELECTORS, Congress may determine time of 

choosing .' 2 i 258 

ENUMERATION, every ten years i 2 248 

EXECUTIVE POWER vested in a President. 

(See President.) 2 i 257 

EXPORTS not to be taxed i 9 255 

" and imports. States prohibited from 
laying duties on, without consent of Congress, 
except in certain cases i 10 256 

EX POST FACTO LAW, none shall be passed., i 9 255 
" " '• " prohibited to States. . . i 10 256 

F 

FINES, excessive, prohibited 8 A 269 

FUGITIVES from justice to be delivered up 4 2 263 

" from service (slaves), may be re- 
claimed 4 2 263 

H 
HABEAS CORPUS, writ of, can only be suspend- 
ed in cases of rebellion or invasion I 9 255 



-2 


248 


3 


249 


3 


250 


4 


26 1 


9 


255 



282 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Art. Sec. Page. 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. (See Rep- 
resentatives.) 
HOUSE, each may expel a member i 5 250 

I 

IMPEACHMENT, House of Representatives has 

sole power of i 

IMPEACHjMENT, Senate has sole power to try. . t 

" judgment in cases of i 

President, Vice-President and 

all civil officers liable to 2 

IMPORTATION OF SLAVES, not to be pro- 
hibited by Congress till 1808 i 

J 

JUDGES shall hold their ofSces during good be- 
havior 3 I 261 

JUDGES, their compensation 3 i 261 

JUDICIARY, tribunals inferior to Supreme Court 

may be created i 8 253 

JUDICIAL POWER vested in a Supreme Court, 

and courts inferior 3 i 261 

JUDICIAL POWER, extent of 3 2 261 

" " limited 11 A 269 

" " restriction as to suits 
against a State n A 269 

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS of each State are 

entitled to full faith and credit in every State. . . 4 i 

JURY TRIAL, all crimes tried by jury, except 
cases of impeachment 3 

JURY TRIAL must be in the State where crime 
committed 3 

JURY TRIAL, further regulated 6 

" " secured in suits at common law 
where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars 7 A 269 

L 
LAW, what is declared the supreme law of the 

land 6 .. 265 



I 


263 


2 


262 


2 


262 


A 


268 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 28o 

Art. Spc. Page. 
LAW, COMMON, recognized and established... 7 A 269 

LAWS, President to see them faithfully exe- 
cuted 2 3 260 

LEGISLATIVE POWERS vested in Congress. 
(See Congress.) 

LOANS, authority to make i 8 253 

M 

MARQUE AND REPRISAL, letters of i 8 254 

MILITIA to be called out, armed, etc.. by Con- 
gress I 8 254 

MILITIA to be officered by the States i 8 254 

" to be commanded by the President.... 2 2 259 

their right to keep and bear arms se- 
cured 2 A 267 

MONEY shall be drawn from the Treasury, only 

by appropriation laws i 9 255 

MONEY, Congress to coin and regulate value i 8 253 

States cannot coin i 10 256 

N 

NATURALIZATION, Congress may establish 

uniform rules i 8 253 

NAVY, Congress power to make rules for gov- 
ernment and regulation of i 8 254 

NOBILITY, titles of, shall not be granted by the 

United States i 9 256 

NOBILITY, titles of, shall not be granted by the 

United States, nor by the States i 10 256 

O 

OATH of the President 2 

of public officers 6 

OFFICERS of House of Representatives shall be 
chosen by the House i 

OFFICERS of the Senate shall be chosen by the 
Senate i 

OFFICERS, civil, may be removed by impeach- 
ment 2 



I 


259 




265 


2 


248 


3 


249 


4 


261 



284 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Art. Sec. Page. 
ORDER of one House requiring the concurrence 

of the other i 7 252 

P 

PARDONS, President may grant 2 2 260 

PATENTS to be granted to inventors i 8 253 

PETITION, right of i A 267 

PERSONS, the migration or importation of, by 
the States, shall not be prohibited by Congress 
prior to 1808 i 9 255 

PERSONS held to service or labor in one State, 
under the laws thereof, escaping into another, 
shall be delivered up to those entitled to the 

service 4 2 263 

[The word "persons," in above cases means slaves.] 

PERSONS born or naturalized in the United 
States and subject to its jurisdiction are citi- 
zens of the United States and of the State 
wherein they reside 14 lA 271 

PERSONS, certain, shall not be a Senator or 
Representative in Congress, or elector of Pres- 
ident and Vice-President, or hold any office, 
civil or military, under the United States, or 
under any State. 14 3A 272 

PERSONS, none shall be held to answer for a 
capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless 
on presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, 
except, etc 5 A 268 

PERSONS, none subject for the same ofifense to 

be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb 5 A 268 

PERSONS, none shall be compelled in any crimi- 
nal case to be a witness against himself 5 A 268 

PERSONS, none shall be deprived of life, lib- 
erty, or property without due process of law. . 5 A 268 

PIRACY, Congress to prescribe punishment' i 8 254 

POST-OFFICES AND POST ROADS, estab- 
lishment of : I 8 253 

POWERS not delegated to the United States, 
nor prohibited to the States, reserved to the 
States, or to the people 10 A 269 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONStlTUTION, 285 

Art. Sec. Page. 
POWERS, legislative. (See Congress.) 

" executive. (See President.) 

" judicial. (See Judicial.) 

PREAMBLE to the Constitution 247 

PRESENTS from foreign powers to public ofifi- 

cers prohibited, without consent of Congress. . i 9 256 

PRESS, freedom of i A 267 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES vest- 
ed with executive power 2 i 257 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES shall 

be chosen for four years 2 i 257 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, how 

elected 2 i 257 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

election of, changed by 12 A 270 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, who 

eligible 2 i 258 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, who 

shall act in case of vacancy 2 I 259 

,PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATEo, 

compensation of 2 i 259 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES shall 

take an oath of office 2 i 259 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES may 

be removed by impeachment 2 4 261 

PRESIDENT, commander in chief of army, navy, 

and militia 2 2 259 

PRESIDENT may require the written opinions of 

the heads of departments 2 2 259 

PRESIDENT may reprieve and pardon 2 2 259 

" may make treaties, with consent 

of the Senate 2 2 260 

PRESIDENT shall appoint certain officers, with 

the consent of the Senate 2 2 260 

PRESIDENT shall have power to fill up vacancies 

happening during the recess of the Senate 2 2 260 

PRESIDENT shall give information to Congress, 

and recommend measures 2 3 260 

PRESIDENT may convene both Houses, or either 

House 2 3 260 



286 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Art. Sec. Page. 

PRESIDENT may adjourn them in case of disa- 
greement 2 3 260 

PRESIDENT shall receive ambassadors and other 

public ministers 2 3 261 

PRESIDENT shall take care that the laws be 

faithfully executed 2 3 261 

PRESIDENT shall commission all officers 2 3 261 

PRIVILEGES and immunities of members of 

Congress i 6 25 1 

PRIVILEGES of Citizens. (See Citizens, also 
Rights.) 

PROPERTY, Congress to provide for care of pub- 
lic property 4 3 264 

PROPERTY, private, shall not be taken for public 

use without just compensation 5 A 268 

PUNISHMENTS, cruel and unusual, prohibited 8 A 260 

Q 

QUORUM, for business, in each House, majority 

shall be i 5 250 

QUORUM of States, in choosing a President by 

the House of Representatives 12 A 270 

QUARTERED, no soldier to be quartered on a 
citizen, in times of peace or war, except in a 
certain way 3 A 267 



R 

RECEIPTS and expenditures, accounts of, to be 

published i 9 256 

RECORDS, how to be proved 4 i 263 

RELIGION, no law respecting an establishment 
of religion to be passed, or prohibiting the 

free exercise thereof i A 267 

RELIGION, no religious test shall ever be re- 
quired as a qualification to any office 6 . . 265 

REPRIEVES granted by the President 2 2 259 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, composed 

of members chosen every second year i 2 247 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 287 

Art. Sec. Pagr. 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, classes of 
persons counted in -determining number of 
Representatives each State may have i _' 247 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, same 

changed by 14th amendment 14 2A 272 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, qualifica- 

cations of members r 2 247 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, certain 

' persons made not ehgible 14 3A 272 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, apportion- 
ment of I 2 247 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF. same 

changed by the 14th amendment 14 A 272 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF. vacancies. 

how filled i 2 248 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF. shall 

choose their Speaker and other ofificers i 2 248 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF. shall 

have sole power of impeachment i 2 24S 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, shall 
be the judge of the elections, returns and 
qualifications of its own members i 5 250 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, a majority 

shall constitute quorum to do business i 5 250 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, any num- 
ber may adjourn and compel the attendance 
of absentees i 5 250 

REPRESENTATIVES. HOUSE OF, may deter- 
mine the rules of proceeding i 5 250 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF. may pun- 
ish or expel a member i 5 250 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, shall keep 

a journal of proceedings and publish same.... i 5 251 

REPRESENTATIVES. HOUSE OF, shall not 
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any 
other place, without the consent of the Senate i 5 251 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, one-fifth 

may require the yeas and nays i 5 251 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF. shall origi- 
nate bills for raising revenue i 7 251 



288 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Art. Sec. Page. 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF, compen- 
sation to be ascertained by law i 6 251 

REPRESENTATIVES, HOUSE OF. privileged 

from arrest, except in certain cases i 6 251 

REPRESENTATIVES shall not be questioned 
in any other place for speech or debate in the 
House I 6 251 

REPRESENTATIVES shall not be appointed to 

any civil ofifice in certain cases i 6 251 

REPRESENTATIVES shall not serve as electors 

of President 2 i 257 

REPRESENTATIVES and direct taxes appor- 
tioned I 2 247 

REPRESENTATIVES apportioned among the 
several States according to numbers, count- 
ing the whole number of persons in each State, 
excluding Indians not taxed, as changed by... 14 2A 272 

REPRESENTATIVES, same, reduced in certain 

cases 14 2A 272 

RESOLUTION, ORDER, OR VOTE, requir- 
ing the concurrence of both Houses to undergo 
the formalities of bills i 7 252 

REVENUE BILLS to originate in House of Rep- 
resentatives I 7 251 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN declared to be citi- 
zens of each State entitled to all the privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the. several States 4 2 263 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN, liberty of con- 
science in matters of religion i A 267 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN, freedom of speech 

and of the press i A 267 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN to assemble and 

petition l A 267 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN to keep and bear 

arms 2 A 267 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN to be exempt from 

the quartering of soldiers in certain cases 3 A 267 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN to be secure from 

unreasonable searches and seizures 4 A 267 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 289 

Art. Sec. Page. 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN to be free from an- 
swering for a capital or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment 
of a grand jury 5 A 268 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN not to be twice 

jeoparded for the same offense 5 A 268 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN not to be com- 
pelled to be a witness against himself in a 
criminal case 5 A 268 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN not to be deprived 
of life, liberty, or property, without due proc- 
ess of law 5 A 268 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN, private property 
not to be taken for public use without just 
compensation 5 A 268 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN in criminal prose- 
cutions, shall have the right of a speedy trial 
by jury, with certain means necessary for his 
defense 6 A 268 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN, right of trial by 
jury in civil cases preserved, and no fact tried 
by jury shall be re-examined otherwise than by 
the rules of the common law 7 A 269 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN, excessive bail shall 
not be required, excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel or unusual punishments inflicted 8 A 269 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN, enumeration of 
certain rights shall not operate against re- 
tained rights of the people 9 A 269 

RIGHTS OF THE CITIZEN to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged on account of race, color, 
or previous condition of servitude 15 A 273 

RULES, each House shall determine its own i 5 250 

S 
SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, Congress given ex- 
clusive legislation over i 8 254 

SEARCHES AND SEIZURES, security against. 4 A 267 
SENATE composed of two Senators from each 

State I 3 248 



290 



A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 



Art. Sec. Page. 



SENATE, how chosen, classed, and terms of 
service 

SENATE, qualifications of Senators 

" qualifications of Senators, here given, 
limited by the 14 3A 

SENATE, Vice-President to be President of 

" shall choose their officers 

" shall be the judge of the elections and 
qualifications of its members 

SENATE, what number shall be a quorum 

" any number may adjourn and compel 
attendance of absentees 

SENATE may determine its rules 

" may punish or expel a member 

SENATE shall keep a journal and publish the 
same, except parts requiring secrecy 

SENATE shall not adjourn for more than three 
days, nor to any other place, without the con- 
sent of the other House 

SENATE, one-fifth may require the yeas and nays. 
" may propose or concur with amend- 

ments, for raising revenue, as on other bills.. 

SENATE shall have sole power to try all im- 
peachments 

SENATE, effect of their judgment on impeach- 
ment 

SENATORS, compensation to be ascertained by 
law 

SENATORS privileged from arrest in certain 
cases 

SENATORS not questioned, , outside, for any 
speech or debate 

SENATORS not eligible to of^ce in certain cases. 

" shall not be an elector 2 

SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES, elec- 
tions of, how prescribed 

SLAVES, importation of not to be prohibited prior 
to 1808 ■ 

SLAVES escaping from one State to another may 
be reclaimed 4 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 



291 



271 

267 
248 
267 



SLAVES freed by 13 , A 271 

SLAVERY AND INVOLUNTARY SERVI- 
TUDE, except as punishment for crime, shall 
not exist within the United States, or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction 13 A 

SOLDIERS not quartered on citizens only on cer- 
tain conditions 3 A 

SPEAKER of the House, how chosen i 2 

SPEECH, freedom of i A 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM entering into 
any treaty, alliance, or confederation; granting 
letters of marque; coining monep; emitting 
bills of credit; making anything a tender but 
gold and silver coin; passing bills of attainder, 
ex post facto laws, or laws impairing contracts; 
granting titles of nobility 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM laying duties on 
imports and exports, without consent of Con- 
gress, except in certain cases 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM laying duties on 
tonnage 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM keeping troops, 
or ships of war, in time of peace 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM entering into 
any agreement or compact with another State, 
or a foreign power 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM engaging in 
war, unless actually invaded, etc 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM making or en- 
forcing any law which shall abridge the priv- 
ileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States 14 lA 272 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM depriving any 
person of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law 14 lA 272 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM denying to any 
person within their jurisdiction the equal pro- 
tection of the laws 14 lA 272 



I 10 


256 


I 10 


256 


I 10 


256 


I 10 


256 


I 10 


256 


I 10 


256 



292 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Art. Sec. Page 
STATES PROHIBITED FROM assuming or 

paying any debt or obligation incurred in aid 

of insurrection or rebellion against the United 

States 14 4A 273 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM assuming or 
paying for the loss or emancipation of any 
slave 14 4A 273 

STATES PROHIBITED FROM denying or 
abridging the right of citizens of the United 
States to vote, on account of race, color, or pre- 
vious condition of servitude 15 A 273 

STATES, new, may be admitted into the Union. 4 3 263 
" may be formed within the jurisdiction 
of others, or by the junction of two or more, 
or parts of States, with the consent of Congress 
and the Legislatures concerned 4 3 263 

STATE JUDGES bound to consider treaties, the 
Constitution, and the laws under it, as the su- 
preme law of the land 6 . . 265 

STATE guaranteed a republican form of gov- 
ernment; protected by the United States 4 4 264 

SUPREME COURT. (See Court, and Judiciary.) 

SUITS AT COMMON LAW, proceedings 7 A 269 

T 

TAX DIRECT, apportioned among the States 

according to numbers, etc i 2 247 

TAX DIRECT shall be laid in proportion to cen- 
sus I 9 25s 

TAX on exports prohibited i 9 , 255 

TENDER, what shall be a legal i 10 256 

TERRITORY, or public property, Congress may 

make rules and regulations concerning 4 3 264 

TEST, religious, shall not be required 6 . . 265 

TITLES. (See Nobility.) 

TREASON, defined 3 3 262 

TREASON, two witnesses to same overt act, or 
confession in open court, necessary for convic- 
tion 3 3 262 



INDEX AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 293 

Art. Sec. Page 
TREASON, punishment of, to be prescribed by 

Congress 3 3 262 

TREASURY, money drawn from, only by appro- 
priation I 9 255 

TREATIES, how made 2 2 260 

" the supreme law 6 . . 265 

" State cannot make i 10 256 

V 

VACANCIES happening during recess of the Sen- 
ate may be filled temporarily by the President 2 2 260 

VACANCIES in representation from any State, 

how filled I 2 248 

VETO OF THE PRESIDENT, effect of, and 

proceedings on i 7 252 

VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 

STATES to be President of the Senate i 3 249 

VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 

STATES, how elected 2 i 257 

VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 

STATES, election of, changed by 12 A 270 

VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
STATES shall, in certain cases, discharge the 
duties of President 2 i 259 

VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 

STATES may be removed by impeachment. . 2 4 261 

VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
STATES, no person constitutionally ineligible 
to the office of President shall be eligible to 
that of Vice-President 12 3A 271 

VOTE OF ONE HOUSE requiring concurrence 

of the other i 7 252 

VOTE, THE RIGHT TO. shall not be denied or 
abridged by the United States or by any State 
on account of race, color, or previous condi- 
tion of servitude 15 A 273 

W 
WAR, Congress to declare i 8 254 



294 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Art. Sec. Page 
WARRANTS for searches and seizures, when and 

how they shall issue 4 A 267 

WITNESS, in criminal cases, no one compelled 

to testify against himself 5 A 268 

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, standard of, by 

whom fixed i 8 253 

Y 

YEAS AND NAYS, entered on journal, when re- 
quired I 5 251 



INDEX OF PERSONS. 



Adams, John 56, 175, 177 

Adams, Samuel 175 

Benjamin, Judah P 120 

Berkeley, Sir William 55 

Black, Jeremiah S 117 

Ereckenridge, John C "jj 

Buchanan, James 116, 121, 122, 142 

Buckle, Henry Thomas 33 

Calhoun, John C « 47, 146 

Carroll, Daniel 201 

Cicero, Marcus Tullius iii 

Clay, Henry 82 

Cobb, Howell 118 

Dane, Nathan 53 

Davis, Jefferson 94, 97, 107, 138, 156, 161 

Dickinson, John 175, 239 

Douglas, Stephen A yy, 165 

Duane, James 237 

Franklin, Benjamin 44, 177, 239, 244 

Garfield, James A 9 

Garrison, William Lloyd 90 

Grant, Ulysses S 168 

Hamilton, Alexander 44, 232, 239, 243 

Hanson, John 201 

Hayne, Robert Y j}^ 

Henry, Patrick 176, 245 

Iverson, Alfred 96 

Jay, John 41, 175, 244 

295 



296 A PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY. 

Jackson, Andrew 124 

Jefferson, Thomas 56, 57, 61, 163, 177 

Kent, James 38, 246 

King, Rufus 239 

Lee, Richard Henry 176 

Lee, Robert E 168 

Lincoln, Abraham 77> 79> 89, 147, 166 

Livingston, William 175 

Livingston, Robert R 177 

Madison, James 60, 239, 243 

Mason, George 233, 239, 245 

Mallory, Stephen B 119 

Morris, Robert 239 

Morris, Gouverneur 239 

Phillips, Wendell 90 

Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth 63, 134, 239, 244 

Pinckney, Charles 239 

Pryor, Roger A 1 54 

Randolph, Peyton 175 

Randolph, Edmund 239 

Rhett, R. B 93 

Rutledge, John 63, 239 

Rutledge, Edward 189 

Sallust 51, III 

Seward, W^illiam H 92 

Sherman, Roger 175, 177, 239 

Stephens, Alexander H 71, 98, 100, 113 

Stevens, Thaddens 107 

Sumner, Charles 90 

Taney, Roger Brooke 91 

Thompson, Jacob 117 

Thompson, Charles 230 

Toombs, Robert 107, 155 

Washington, George 32, 39, 49, 59, 238, 242, 243 



INDEX OF PERSONS. 297 

Webster, Daniel 53, i66 

Webster, Noah 237 

Webster, Pelatiah 23; 

Wilson, James 239, 244 

Yulee, D. L 119 



ONGBESS 





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